Real Estate Career Direction

[Blake Peterson]

Hi everyone,

This is a very broad and open post, but I'm very curious to know what your thoughts are. I'm a recent college graduate, and am currently working as a supervisor at a group home. I love working with the clients I support, but I cannot handle the culture that comes along with group home companies. (If you've worked in a group home, you know what I'm talking about.) I want to get out of this scene and move into real estate, but I'm not sure what route to take.

This past year I've found BiggerPockets and have been listening to various podcasts on the site religiously. I know I want to invest into small multifamily properties using the house hack method in a couple of years. I need to save up a reserve fund first, as I don't have a comfortable amount (I want about 10-15k) yet. I figure that I might as well get into real estate as a career and not just an investment. It will teach me useful skills and help me network with the right people in order to set up my investment career. My issue is simple, I have no idea what direction to go down. Do I get my real estate license? If so, how do agents survive that first year or two as I don't have enough saved up to live off savings. Do I go into property management? If so, would you look into bigger property management companies, or try to find a small company that has a less rigid structure. What about the inspection side?

Like I started with, I know this post is very broad. I appreciate any responses as I am very lost right now and would greatly appreciate any knowledge and guidance.