One of the things that you can start with is getting proficient with cold calling and getting into the habit of making 150-200 calls a day because scaling is in direct relation to consistent cold calling. 

@Romney Salanoa one of the things can certainly get you a head start is learning how to value properties as an agent, learning and knowing how to comp properties is as mathematical as it is an art form, sounds like you're already doing some of that but becoming proficient at it should give a leg up and free you up to deal with more important issues later on down the road.

I tell people to try to scale up to at least a few units quickly because it will help the numbers even out more faster and also help you get the experience to become more proficient faster as well. 

Highest fail rates for the AINS, CIC, CPCU, CISR, etc (for those not in the insurance world these are designations that show you are proficient in insurance, not just pass a state exam) are in the commercial casualty (which includes Commercial General Liability, Business Auto Policy, Work Comp and Commercial Umbrella).

...it's like a pilot who proficiently flies 747s for twenty years back and forth, back and forth, back and forth across the country...until one day, they're told that they have to fly a rocket to outer space.

All of the trades are rich and require many years to become truly proficient.

How did you come to be proficient in identifying which elements to research, and how to compile that data?

This starts with becoming financially literate, fiscally responsible, proficient managing money.

That's not for everyone though so of course all of the routes you've mentioned would have some application in RE but it seems like the people who truly do best in this game see the big picture and long term trends so perhaps Economics.Ultimately I think that a strong real estate investor has to have some level of proficiency in all of those fields but doesn't necessarily need to be black belt master in any single one of them if they are good at delegating and building the right team. 

But again, its a good product, its just that lenders need to be more proficient and provide better guidelines to consumers.