Newbie...

[zonacat6]

Hey guys, I'm a freshman right now at university of arizona. They don't offer a real estate major here but that's what I want to do. I feel like I'm wasting my time in college...I plan on going to real-estate seminars and learning the ropes and eventually possibly being a realtor for a few years to gain experience and to make $. Eventually I would like to buy property and flip it, start my own business, etc. Anyone coming from my shoes ever done this? Any personal experience would be helpful, thx.

[reigal]

First, Welcome.  I don't have personal experience in this but ...I wanted to put in my 2 cents.

Getting an education is never a waste of time.  RE will move up & down but your education will always help you to find the best prospects.  Stay in school and do this on the side.  

You want be able to discuss various topics with your clients. Education can help you towards this end.  I could go on and on....but seriously don't give up school.

[Roger J]

Just an case you need a second opinion, education is NEVER a waste.

Whether you actually use (meaning a job in that field) your degree or not, as you grow older you'll find how much the education, and the college experience, actually helped you.  It would be a shame to miss that.

Raj

[FUTUREREILEGEND]

Will only get you limited results!( Wait for it, now....here comes the numerous replies filled with poisionous verbal assaults. ) The job market is full of college graduates and nowadays a degree will only do for you what a high school diploma would do years ago. I didn't graduate from high school, yet I have numerous college graduates working under me....prime example. A degree mixed with the right level of "goget'em" will take you to the sky, but the paper itself don't mean squat. To learn something everyday from life is the only true education (example: If I furnished you a textbook on any subject you could study from it and at least remember enough to do well on a test, true or false?). Listen, if it ain't in your heart, you won't live it or learn it.

Go out there and do it, REI.

[reigal]

Being an a higher education environment is not just about reading books. Its about experiences, the people you meet, etc. Most people never even meet someone from another country until they go to college.

Yes, I agree. Getting a degree doesn't mean that you will be successfully (look at Bill Gates....the #1 richest person in the world  , but it means that you can be more well rounded. If RE doesn't work in the end...you'll have an education to pursue something else.

[FUTUREREILEGEND]

I completely agree, college is a priceless experience. Key work "experience",  make lots of friends and cherish those times forever, after all relationships are all that matter in the end. Now, I said I didn't graduate from high school, but I did attend college. While I didn't completly finish, I learned enought to set the limit of my success. Here's the ultimate point:

IT'S ALL ON YOU DUDE! NO ONE ELSE CAN PUSH THE GAS PEDDLE FOR YOU!

[jasonbshepard]

As a recent college graduate I will say that getting my degree was a life long dream that has recently been fulfilled. Now I am setting my sights on living a life that doesn't require to sign a time sheet. I wouldn't give up my college years for anything in the world. I found out my likes and dislikes, found out what the inside of jail cell looks like, met my soon to be wife and found life long friendships which will no doubt last forever.  Bottom line is REI can be done anywhere, at anytime by anybody. Only a select few get the opportunity to go to college and get a degree. Be thankful you have the chance. Don't waste it!

[kdhastedt]

I made the mistake of not going to college out of high school...then I got married and went in the military.  It took me 10 years to do it but I got my degree working on it nights and weekends.  

Regardless of what you want to do, finish your degree first!!!  You can do REI part-time as a bird dog or doing a few flips.

Part of the education process should be learning how to think analytically and gaining "life experiences" -- both skills that are paramount in the investing world

...and, enjoy it while you can.  

Keith

[reigal]

You know...I LOVE this forum. I used to be a member but lost my login info and so I had to resign in again. This is one of the few forums where people can discuss matters without getting nasty.

So there you have it - zonacat6.  Here's to a prosperous side biz doing REI. All the other kids will wonder where you got all that cash  .

Stick around you'll learn alot.

[Redtigress]

My advice: Finish your degree.  These days with very few exceptions, employers won't hire you do to anything without one.  Because it's so easy to go to college these days, and for the past 20 years it's been possible for pretty much ANYONE to go to college, most employers have the attitude that something is wrong with you if you don't.  In fields where I have a more than reasonable amount of experience, at 27, I have been passed over for numerous positions because someone else applied that had a degree... and most of the time no experience.  A degree may in some cases, just be a piece of paper on the wall, but it is a VERY useful piece of paper.

If you want to do investing full time as your career then purhaps a degree in business management or in finance would be wise.  For that matter I'm sure Dave, Mark, and a few others would be happy to tell you that their CPA has been endlessly useful in this field.  Pick a degree that will mesh well with what you wish to do.  For that matter there are degree programs for construction, architecture, design, etc.  All of those would be helpful as well.  Your college doesn't have a Real Estate major?  That's cool, there are a lot of other things that can help you keep your business profitable.  Heck go for a law degree and specialize in Real Estate Law.  Then you can invest on the side and make money off of your fellow investors all while protecting them legally by keeping them from doing stupid things.  

My point is this: Education is what you make it, and while being detail oriented, in this field, is helpful, the inability to back up and look at the big picture can lead you into a dead end.

[ATLNEWBIE]

Thank you Redtigress,got you email.

ATLNEWBIE