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Updated about 9 years ago on . Most recent reply

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John Warren
  • Real Estate Broker
  • 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546
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ROI on a doctoral degree

John Warren
  • Real Estate Broker
  • 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546
Posted

Hi BP members,

I am in the midst of deciding on whether or not to pursue a doctoral degree. This has been an amazing year for my wife and I as we closed on our first investment property (a four unit apartment building), and welcomed our second son into the world! I also became a licensed real estate broker in Illinois!

In the midst of all this, I am trying to decide whether or not it will be worth it for me to get a doctoral degree in higher ed. Here are the "pros and cons". Let me know what you all think!

Pros

-guaranteed increase of 9k a year as soon as I complete it (union teacher contract!)

-increases in base pay add up to over 20k more per year by the 25th year (I know... a long time).

-Could make me more employable if I ever left my tenured community college job. 

-Prestige. It would be somewhat personally fulling to complete a doctoral degree as I probably will make a career out of higher ed.

Cons

-guaranteed increase of 9k a year... after paying 38k in tuition. 

-I might be able to make more money in Real estate if I leverage all of that time. 

-The pay off takes a long time. The break even point is around 7 years after I start the degree program.

So what do you think BP members? Would you take the plunge?

  • John Warren
  • Most Popular Reply

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    Nick C.
    • Specialist
    • Tampa, FL
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    Nick C.
    • Specialist
    • Tampa, FL
    Replied

    Sounds like a bad investment. Not only the $$$ aspect, but the time you spend in the classroom you could be learning about real estate and doing deals. But none of that is as relevant as what you enjoy doing more - real estate or teaching? That should be the deciding factor... 

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