After taking the course, our instructors were really thorough in explaining that RE agents only act on behalf of brokers when working in the profession and I have no plans to do anything shady.

As the illustrious Bill Hamm recounts his flight school instructor's lesson: "Takeoffs are optional.

I could then take the money that was originally allocated to rent prior to the house hack and apply it to the student debt (along with any additional income that my flight instructor position might provide me). 

I personally know Bill Allen and he's a former Navy Flight Instructor.

So, even if you don’t want a degree, I would say participate in some class or learning program that requires you to do more than just receive information from an instructor.

SDCIA is looking for instructors to run beginner and advanced classes.

The instructor also provides personal experience so it provides a level of “trade secrets”.

To Your Success,David Monroe, CCIMMultifamily Investor/Broker/Consultant/Instructor

College classes will be structured and you'll have an experienced instructor (hopefully) who's able to answer questions and give insight. 

I'm a full time special needs instructor and this is the same process we use to take our kids and have them build 10-30k/month businesses.