Why are there so many ex-engineers in REI?

[Paul B.]

I've been a landlord since 2008, but only about six months ago did I decide I wanted to get more serious about real estate investing. I'm an engineer by day, which is why every time I hear an investor or a guru say they were an engineer in a past life, it catches my attention. I don't intend to quit my job, but I have become curious why so many have. The head of one of the local REIAs in Dallas/Fort Worth, a local multi-family investing expert, and the head of a turnkey investment company based in CA but focusing on Dallas are three examples that come to mind. 

Here are my possible explanations:

1. There is no particular abundance of former engineers and I am just noticing them more because I am biased.

2. Engineers are good with numbers and analysis and these skills transfer well to REI.

3. Engineering offers good entry-level opportunities out of college but in the long term is a lousy career path (many of the successful investors I've met quit their day job after about 15 years working in the corporate world).

Has anyone else noticed the trend or have ideas why?

[Scott Pigman]

It's a combination of things. Making more cheddar than the average mouse is part of it. Actually having studied a degree that requires math is another. (But we use math for practical purposes, not navel gazing stuff like the mathematicians or the physicists.) We know our way around excel pretty well too, which ain't a bad skill to have in REI. Engineering is about figuring out how things work and finding solutions to problems. Real estate is just another problem for us to figure out.

On the flip side we tend to be more introverted and small-c conservative than sales and marketing types, so we struggle with those parts of the business.

I think you also get to a point in engineering where you have to decide whether to stay on a technical path or go over to the pointy-haired dark-side of management. The big money is usually along the management track -- for the select few that make it to the CxO level or who strike out to start their own business. Those of its who aren't interested in that rat race might start to look into other pursuits. 

All that said I doubt that many engineers actually end up investing in real estate even if a disproportionate number of investors are engineers. I think more get active in the stock market or take up hobbies like restoring cars.