Should I stay in university?!

[Antonios Kranidis]

Hey everyone! 

I’m currently in a really tough position just looking for any advice I can get. I’m 19 years old and currently studying structural engineering in my 2nd year. I hate university. I had this idea that university would somehow help me to begin investing in SFM and small multis (qualifying for mortgages, etc). I still have another 2.5 years to go of my degree and it seems like such a waste of time. Everyone around me is saying to stick out the last couple years for the security. I’m also in a tough spot as my parents are paying for my education which puts a lot of pressure on me to stick out the remaining couple years. My true passion is real estate investing. I just don’t know where to go from here. If anyone would be willing to weigh in their thoughts I would love to hear what you have to say. Thanks a lot!

[JD Martin]

Yes. You should stick it out:

1. There's no reason you couldn't do both at the same time. Buy a duplex/triplex, live in one rent out the others. Or buy a SFH and rent all the rooms to your university buddies.

2. You think you have a passion for real estate investing but assuming you haven't done it (which is why you're here asking this question) you don't know that.

3. Structural engineering is a pretty lucrative field. Real estate investing requires money. One can easily be the means to an end for the other.

4. It doesn't sound like you're in a tough position at all. You're 19 and going to university on a ride from your parents. 95% of the rest of the world would call this a dream come true. This is the definition of First-world problems.

5. Your idea that getting a "real job" would help you qualify for mortgages and help you buy properties was spot-on. Banks generally don't like to give loans to people who don't have any obvious employment or employable skills.

What you really need is to recalibrate your mind. Investing in educating yourself is the greatest lifetime investment you'll ever make, better than any apartment complex. There are certainly other professions that can be learned without university but none of them are shortcuts.