So I have a idea of something that I feel would be useful, but a bit stuck on how to start it. Coming here to hopefully find a path forward.The idea centers around the idea of a heat Map or finding hot/cold areas of a...

I plan to "drill" 3-4 potential PM's before I even purchase a property and have them involved in the process of helping me look at actual rent analytics in the area.  

But even if you don't, you can still be successful.Many, many basic skills are applicable to all industries.If you are organized, motivated, analytical and critically think you can be successful anywhere you choose.You will not love every aspect of your job but you will spend your time there regardless.If you choose RE investing, schedule time daily to work on it. 

I moved ALL my money from my IRA accounts into a Self  directed IRA and I invest in Real Estate with superb results.

@Dean Earls Zev broke it down analytically in its most simplistic manner.

All signs point to that area continuing to appreciate and various analytics also point to that as well (CBRE has Indianapolis as #1 for business infrastructure in 2019 for example) and we have seen rent increase by over 8% in 2021! 

Also the research analytical gem you just provided is outstanding.

It sounds like you enjoyed the analytical portion of underwriting, same here.

I’m not analytical in those ways.

I'm an engineer who's a very analytical thinker and good with numbers so I think I'd be able to help run numbers where needed.