Real Estate Investing Job Advice

[Seth Heck]

Hello Bigger Pockets members,

I have been a member of Bigger Pockets for about six months now and have finally decided to post to the forums. I just recently graduated with my MBA in Finance and thought I would go to bigger pockets to seek some advice. Before I get to my question, I think a short story of my journey to bigger pocket might help how you respond.

I was referred to Bigger Pockets by a friend of mine who told me to listen to a Bigger Pockets podcast. From that moment, I have been hooked. I began to read everything I could about real estate investing through books, articles, blogs, etc. I came to the conclusion, that I need to start investing and buy my first property. 

I am just out of college and am looking for a job. I'm seeking a W2 income that will eventually support my real estate investing endeavors. As I am continuing to learn about REI, I figured why not get a job in the Real Estate Industry where I can learn the industry and build connections.

My question to you all is this: What is the best way to get into the industry that will help me become a better investor? Is it being an agent, is it working for a developer, is it working for a bank on the mortgage side? In other words, how do I break into the industry?

Any thoughts, suggestions, or personal stories would be so helpful.

Thanks in advance,

Seth Heck

[James Galla]

@Alec A., I don't think you need to take a job in the real estate industry in order to advance your real estate investment experience. A lot of the materials you need can be accomplished through extracurricular activities. For instance, I will suggest enrolling in Cornell's Commercial Real Estate Certificate Program. There are also free courses offered by MIT. Formal education is a very heavy step, though. So, it may be appropriate to just watch youtube videos or talk with people on here. On the same line of thinking, getting a job in real estate is also a very heavy step. Despite all the information out there, you might not even use it due to outsourcing. So, those are great tools to assist in the relevant standards out there, but I think an even greater aid in building an investment portfolio comes from networking. Good networking can lead to great new deals, education, and it can save on the costs of doing business.