With Finance degree he should be able to make a handsome salary even as an entry level employee, and YES !

Is it realistic to buy anything for 30-40-50K or is it more like a 100K entry point?

A duplex should cost just a little more than 50% of a quad so they have lower entry costs than quads and typically cash flow better than SFR (home or condo).My recommendation for newer investors house hacking is a self-managed detached duplex referring to yourself as the property manager. 

Some of the big ones will too, but the monthly fee may be substantial.As others have already mentioned, as an agent, you have access to MLS in real time (not delayed IDX on sites like Zillow, trulia, etc), a lockbox for entry, access to tax records, deeds, comps, and a commission built in to transactions that you don't have to negotiate as a price discount.  

I choose to start in Dayton (although I live in Denver) due to low price entry points, the market is unsaturated with buyers (so there are still a lot of good buy opportunities), good mix of tenants for rentals and a steady economy at the moment. 

I just posted a blog entry sharing my story about how I did my first flip in 2016 and how I upped my business to 4 flips this year!  

I immediately head home and if I feel like it, I'll make a quick breakfast (usually bacon and eggs) then start my day.Two new things I would like to incorporate into my morning routine include a quick journal entry and some brief meditation.

They do generally have a low cost of entry but not necessarily worth it.

The cost of living is way too high in Chicago and the entry level for multifamily investing here is just too high for me right now (plus it's friggen cold).

There is a tougher barrier to entry for real estate investors here in South Florida because of our market.