I’m a Metro Nashville Public School teacher looking to start my own real estate venture.

Long answer is ask a college math teacher or experienced loan officer (lbvs).

Buy or inherit and hold all their lives while working the properties for income.I've seen teachers, firemen, software engineers and all sorts of people utilize both strategies successfully.

I'm a teacher so I probably rely on relationships too much.

If you're lucky you could make back the borrowed amount by the time loan payments start.I went to school too, a lot of school, and I value my education, however I think that really being involved in life (investing certainty qualifies) is usually a better teacher for the teachable - in many cases....

Bankers topped lawyers, but not teachers, the highest held in greatest esteem were doctors and police officers....oh my!   

Let's just say my teacher would be horrified by this scenario!

I apologize for probably not wording this extremely well, but for for example if you were a teacher, contractor, police officer, attorney, IT specialist, engineer, etc etc etc...How have you been able to translate or transition knowledge from your previous field into your investing career?

I was a teacher and bus driver there.Pipe being transported from drilling site fell off truck on HWY 171 near Godley.

As the saying goes "experience is the best teacher."