Best RE related careers to become a full time investor?

Question

Hi,

I’m currently a college undergraduate with an internship at a Property Management company. It seems Property Management is a great career related to investing but the salary may not be high enough.

Is Property Management the best career if the goal is to be a full time investor. If not, what is?

Thank you for your advice!

George W. · Answer

I worked for a medium sized plumbing company, the owner has been investing in stocks, bonds and property for over 50 years. The key thing I learned from him is that it's not about what you earn, but what you are able to save. Sure when he started everything was significantly cheaper, but they were also only making like $10k/year. What made him wealthy over the years is the fact that he saved a little at a time, invested it and it kept compounding over the years. Side note he could of retired many years ago but refuses to because it's a passion at this point between his business and investing.

Of course being in a industry that's related to what you want to invest in helps, but job title literally does nothing for you if you're not able to save/budget. Sure some will argue that you can use other peoples money, but would you invest with a guy who has zero cash? I wouldn't.

Find a job that pays nice and has good job security. If you're in the real estate industry keep networking. Live within your means and budget as tightly as possible.

Account Closed · Answer

@Jim K.

What you said about choosing the right spouse is spot on. The vast majority of people have the “live for the day” mentality. There’s no room for that way of thinking if someone wants to create wealth.

Jim K. · Answer

@Gary Thompson

I would recommend the trades route along with @George W. I do not speak from the same experience that he does. I spent a long number of years as a teacher, working very hard yet living in genteel poverty. Then I became a renovation handyman putting in my time on my own properties.

If I were you, I'd think very hard about the military, especially the Navy Construction Battalions, the Seabees. You want to learn flexible trade skills and thinking on your feet, problem-solving and smart maintenance, you could do A LOT WORSE than the Seabees. You come out with a pile of educational benefits to devote toward your future and good health care for life, as well as the best general trades school training the world has to offer.

But over the years, and especially through reading so many horror stories here, I've come to believe that you (and others like you) are really asking the wrong question. What you really want to know is how you can prepare yourself best for a life in real estate investing. And you've been taught to believe, all your life, that your formal education is a big, huge, gigantic, critical part of that. Everyone is. And practically everyone is broke, just in case you haven't noticed.

Your problem is that the two main life skills you're going to need to succeed simply aren't taught in schools.

The first and most important skill is personal finance. As George mentioned, living within your means and budgeting tightly is a must. I don't care how much money you make, you have to know what's coming in and what's going out. You have to consciously commit to living well below your means, and work toward that goal, either by greatly increasing your means or by cutting down on your expenses, but preferably both. This is a rare and valuable skill and takes work and discipline to develop over time. You will meet otherwise incredibly smart people who are fantastically bad at it.

The second has to do with the choice of your spouse. The choice of a wrong life partner can be absolutely devastating in this business. I know dozens of people who wish they could just get into something like real estate but...their spouse holds them back. You have to have someone by your side who is 100% going to be there in the good times and the bad with you, making the sacrifices that need to be made right along with you. It's not at all easy for the masses of men and women out there to choose to make $100K a year and live on $40K. That's the kind of hard choice you're going to be asking your spouse to make. And there are a lot of choices like that. And once again, you will meet genius after genius in your life who picked the wrong woman or man to go through life with.

Cameron Tope · Answer

@Gary Thompson that's solid advice from @Nick Rutkowski.

I think you have two options for your life/career you graduate - (1) you don't worry about the money, pursue your passion and eventually you'll be so good at whatever you do that you'll be well paid for it or (2) get the highest paying job you can then put all that extra money into investments (real estate, stocks, etc.).

I chose the latter and it has worked out well so far but I know folks that have chosen the former and have done well too.

Best of luck!

Sean McDonnell · Answer

I am a little biased but being a real estate agent is also a great way to work in the real estate business and also fund your investments. As a property manager, unless you own your own company, you are most likely on a W2 salary so your income is capped.  As a real estate agent, there is a strong correlation between how hard you work and how much money you earn.

Stephen Keighery · Answer

@Gary Thompson property management is great. Also anything in construction or sales will give you skills you can use in your investing business.

Jerryll Noorden · Answer

Yup!

You don't need an education to become an investor. It is a skill you learn and or pick up. You don't go to school to become a house flipper.

I would get a real degree if you are going to do college, because you are just wasting time and money if you are trying to become an investor by going to college.

I am scientist and I am now a flipper.

And that person over there, is a "Stay at home mom" and she is a successful investor.

Ohh and he? He is a fire fighter and HE is a successful investor.

Just do your thing and go get it!

Whitney Hutten · Answer

@Gary Thompson What is your goal with being a full-time investor?  Is it to invest in other's projects, scale your own business, have just enough property that covers the bills and where you can check the real estate professional box? You have to treat being a full-time investor as a PLAN not a job title or position. What's your plan?

For me, I want to build very time-leveraged businesses so I have control of my time to do what I'm passionate about.  I've taken on positions along the way that build skills focused on that path.  What's your path and that then can help drive your choices better.

Nick Rutkowski · Answer

Property management isn't a bad skill to have. It's essential to have that skill when managing your properties or whenever you're ready to have a PM take over and you need them to manage your way. Real estate is so broad and involves so many different sets of skills, you can't master it all. Whatever you can't do, hire it out.

My only suggestion is do as much construction work as you can, it doesn't require much skill to get started. But ridiculously hard to find someone who mastered a trade skill and doesn't charge an arm and a leg.

Best RE related careers to become a full time investor?

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