My friends are generally a low- or middle-income crowd: many of them are artists (for instance, they're professors and practitioners of art), or they work for non-profits, or they're school teachers, etc.

It felt like I was defending my MS degree thesis and scrutinized by four of my mentors/professors and the chairman to comment on this...

@Danny Webber I think this professor is looking at this either with no vision, or discounting what mitigation efforts are in place.

Background as a psychiatric, pediatric, and school nurse, also a professor, and a mom.

Find an organization that is willing to pay higher rents for their professors, engineers,  ect?

My engineering professor always told this story:"A company was having issues with the engine in one of their vessels.

Definitely read "What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow..And 36 Other Key Financial Measures," by Frank Gallinelli (the Columbia professor from BP podcasts).

Lots of doctors, professors, and lawyers, meaning folks who aren't as likely to rent (although there are plenty of folks with money who don't want to/can't deal with maintenance).

Benefits (medical, dental, 401k..etc) are very expensive.For me, the math finally works but I've made the real estate schedule work with my day job as a University Professor. 

I am a tenured college professor and also pretty successful in REI.