Career Advice - May 2022 Grad

[Drew Hoye]

Hello BP Community,

I am looking for advice on which career path to take, and I think it will be helpful to get other investors opinions as no one in my family/friend circle is into RE investing. I am 23 and will be graduating in May with a Finance degree with an emphasis in Real Estate. I bought my first duplex toward the end of last year and am currently renovating it. I know my long and end game is real estate investing and I'm trying to figure out the best way to scale my RE business through my career.

Background: I have been doing hardwood flooring since I was about 13 (learning from my father) and have actually started my own business in 2019. I had to take last year off of school due to a series of concussions so I got a taste of my income potential doing flooring full time. I paid myself around 75k (no employees, working solo) in 2021 which I realize is a good income but now that I will have a degree I am debating getting out of the physical labor into a different career. I am more or less looking for the best option to fund my real estate investments. The most appealing options that I have looked into other than continuing my flooring trade are 1) some type of sales role as I like the idea of earning commission w/ a base and getting out of something of what I put in. 2) Construction Project Management / Site Engineer. I have also tossed around the idea of becoming a RE agent for residential or a broker for commercial. I am weary of doing an agent role because they generally have no base salary and it can take months for a new agent to see any form of payment due to the nature of the job and being new, needing to network and build a client base/ book of business. 

Any thoughts, opinions, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read my situation. 

[Mike Davis]

@Drew Hoye if real estate is your future, go the real estate route. You can find a team that are looking for buyers agents, and give you leads. If you’re doing this full time, you will be making money in no time. The secret is to get on a team.