@Samuel Jolicoeur
There are plenty of jobs, careers and businesses in the real estate field other than wholesaling or brokerage.
Real estate INVESTING covers a lot of territory. Everything from the owner of a single SFR he rents out to major landlords who own (and owe ) billions of $ in real property. The questions are (1) where on this spectrum do you want to be and (2) what is the best way to get there?
Although I personally DID start as a commercial real estate broker (in 1978!), that's just an ok way to start. Not great, just ok. Better is to work ( probably) entry level at a REIT, real estate private equity fund, real estate related hedge fund, property syndicator, real estate developer, land developer, or real estate mutual fund. Best of all is to (assume you possess an undergraduate degree) obtain a specialized masters degree in real estate. Perhaps almost as good is to obtain a graduate certificate in real estate from a recognized university. NYU, Harvard, MIT, Florida, Texas A and M all offer this option.
It’s very popular now days to dis formal education. You can obtain somewhat of the same thing for free, but it takes tremendous motivation, dedication, time etc. And a key ingredient will be missing. The interaction you get with other students and professors, some say where the real learning takes place, and certainly where future hopefully very profitable contacts are initially formed and where you could jumpstart your career leaping over others to obtain highly sought after positions within the industry.
BP is a great resource - for those interested in a personal real property investment portfolio of SFR, or small commercial properties. But there's a world of real estate beyond that; if your dreams and ambition is to enter the realm of 40 story office buildings, city block redevelopment, 500 acre mixed use projects or 300 room luxury central city hotels, then starting with an investment in a $80,000duplex is probably not going to get you there today. It might have 50 years ago, but that was a far different era.
If your ambition is a little more modest, say to own enough real property with enough cash flow to support a middle or upper middle class life style somewhere reasonably priced, then you will need to acquire three things. Capital to make property purchases and build on; education to know how and what and when, and credentials so you can get property acquisitions financed.
Of the three the far and away most important is education for the resultant knowledge. With nothing but knowledge there exist (rare, but they do exist) individuals that can pull off PROFITABLE property acquisitions WITHOUT capital of their own and without outstanding credentials. It’s not easy, the “circumstances” need to be right, but it is done.
Good luck and let us know what you real estate “dreams” are.
