I would like to know how many regular posters here have completed at least 4 years of college, even if it was 30-40 years ago. Any Masters or Ph.D 's here by any chance?

My real question here is two-fold: did your college education help you in any way in becoming a better business person and/or LL ? And if one of your teenage children wanted to follow in your LLing footsteps,...would you recommend they get a college degree first? Why or why not?

Graduated Central State University with a BBA in Marketing and Economics in 1972...yes, I'm old!

Yes, the degree did help me. First, it allowed me the opportunity to get a job that required a degree. Secondly, that job prepared me to be a good manager, plus gave me the income to purchase rental property. Both of my daughters have degrees, and their children are now in college, or starting next year.

The degree got my foot into businesses that otherwise I would never had the opportunity to work and learn.

Yes, I recommend a degree, but, there are several folks without degrees who have also done very well.

I just think the degree is a good door opener.

Smoke,

No I am not selling anything here. You can buy a diploma with your name on it online if you really want one,..LOL.

BS, MS, EDS- never finished my dissertation.

Got my nose out of joint, Major Professor allowed her Life Partner's name to get put on one of my Chapters I wrote for a college textbook and I challenged it. Things got real unpleasant. She's no longer there, but I was done with Higher Education politics.

Master's, but earned later in life, after raising kids. The degree is paying for a very nice living now aside from rentals, but Bachelor's taught me to think critically and to read thoughtfully.

I don’t think the degree helped me other than it allowed me to earn somewhat more money. My area... no 5K Roy houses. Expensive market to get into.

Possibly my degree encouraged me to be better at learning/analyzing. But since I am wired that way, maybe it made no difference.

I encouraged my kids to go into the trades. (Didn’t happen). I think that would have been useful.

My impression is that it’s harder to get a “good job”’without a 4 year degree. I’ve known a few people that didn’t make it through 4 years of college who spent quite a bit of time searching for a “good job”.

In theory, a 4 yr degree should give you a better chance of getting a “good job”’with benefits. And, one should be able to switch fields more easily. Get a 5 yr electrician apprenticeship and one can only get hired as a n electrician. 30-40 years is a long time to work in the same field.

BS, MSc in Physics & MBA in marketing. Degrees got me high paying captive jobs, then high paying contracting software contracts so I could buy SFRs. They now CF and provide $ for grand children's education & supplemental funds for whole family.

So yes, I would recommend getting at least a BS technical college degree and preferably a technical MSc degree.

Seems like a BS/BA has become the de facto minimum for getting a job and an advance degrees for high skill level higher $ jobs.

I got pregnant at 15 and dropped out of high school in the 9th grade. Had two kids by the time I was 18.

My parents bought me a set of encyclopedias and I read them cover to cover A to Z. I am truly "home schooled."

I went back later and got a GED.

Because I entered hi-tech back when all that was required was aptitude - no degrees yet - lack of formal education never held me back. I *did* lie to get my first such job, but after that, all was well. I worked along side people with Masters and such, earning as much or more than they did.

I have a degree from a different planet/country. It not related to LL in anyway. Landlording came second as an additional source of income.

to echo what other say, having a BS means easier to get high paying job. The job not only gives you cash for buying houses, but makes it easier to get conventional mortgages for financing.

I would love to be able to address teens and tell them to READ and then LEARN TO SPEAK IN PUBLIC. Every opportunity I had in life was because I was able to SPEAK WELL IN PUBLIC. In front of people, on a stage even. Get up and speak.

I have an Associates Degree that has absolutely nothing to do with land lording.

I don't think it's necessarily any degree that gives you the skills needed for this job. It's the life experience, ability to think critically, and common sense - among other skills - that can be gained through many different ways.

I don't think that a degree helps you get a "better job" anymore. Only if it a degree that is needed to work in a field - like doctor, lawyer, etc. But a more "general' degree - no.

Too many youth are pushed to go to college who have no need / business being there. They should instead learn a trade or technical skill where they can start to earn a living without all the college debt that does not proportionally increase their earning potential.( and wasted time trying to find themselves while goofing around and partying) It (a degree)can give you a much lower standard of living due to college debt.

A couple of my kids at least play with the idea of investing in Real estate one day, but I don't push them. Just show them some of the potential, and encourage them any time they ask questions. If you insist on something, kids tend to shy away from it. I've encouraged them to try to work in a field they truly enjoy / can succeed at. No matter if it requires a degree.

Went to Baylor and double-majored (Museum Studies & Archaeology). Originally wanted to be an Egyptologist, but it was too unstable a field for family life. Decided to position myself for a PhD in Paper Conservation (Preservation of Historic Documents). Graduated with about $16k in debt. Got married, paid it off, did WebCT online to get my Master's of Library Science from a state school (University of North Texas) while I worked full-time and while my husband was in school.

DH got his undergrad degree (English and History) from a state school in TN. He got his Master's in Museum Science from Texas Tech. (Which was how we met.) We got married, and he worked full time in the day and went to school at night to get his JD from a small school that later got absorbed by Texas A&M.

I finished up mine about six months before he finished up his. Because I used my employer's tuition reimbursement to cut costs (half my hours refunded upon receipt of a passing grade, can't leave employer within 2 years of having accepted funds), we graduated with two degrees and no debt. (Wooooo!)

Never did get into Paper Conservation. He got a job in his field; I got a job in mine; we started a family; we started ll'ing to position ourselves for a good retirement and the kids' college. If I ever do go back to school, it will be pure ego at that point... because I want stripes on my sleeves, goshdarnit. But I'll probably end up doing something practical, like getting a CNA to help out with our parents' health when it fails.

#1-- Did it help me be a better ll/business person? Not really. I became a librarian because I like dealing with information, but learning how to be a librarian didn't really make me a better data organizer, if that makes sense. (I'm more of a programs-and-ref-desk kind of librarian, not a cataloguer kind of librarian.) I used to be a secretary while I went to school, because the museums were building, not hiring. I was a much better secretary for my boss than I ever was for myself-- I used their systems when I was accountable to them, but I'm less disciplined when it's just us.

DH is far more methodical than I am. His degree has come infinitely in handy, both in terms of earning potential and information wrangling-- but it's such a stressful field, I wouldn't steer my kids into it unless they really wanted it for themselves.

#2-- A college degree is a piece of paper that opens doors. If you don't have a door that needs opening, the degree is of questionable use. A degree with a shelf life-- like computer science-- is also likely to be useless without boots-on-the-ground experience. A degree is ultimately a tool that turns a 12" stack of resumes into a 2" stack of resumes; experience does the rest.

If my kid wanted to follow in my ll'ing footsteps, I'd encourage them to get a BA/BS, just to have one in their pocket, and in the hopes that it would make them well-rounded/teach critical thinking skills/expose them to ideas/mature and transition into a self-sufficient adult. But if they didn't have a field that they were specifically interested in, I wouldn't go out of my way to send them further away than the local regional university. Or perhaps I might send them to learn a trade that would help them with ll'ing. (Plumbing, HVAC, electricity.) But I went to school with way too many kids who either didn't study, or didn't know what they wanted to do, to want to waste too much money on a kid who doesn't realize that being a student is their job, and takes it seriously.

School of Hard Knocks.

College wasn't an option.

BS and MS.

In earning a Bachelor's degree, you learn to learn. You figure out how to read text and get what's important out of it and dismiss some of the other things. You learn to study on your own and retain that knowledge.

My degrees allowed me to obtain jobs that paid well enough I could sock money away into rental properties. At one time while I was single I was living off of one bi-weekly paycheck per month and putting the others toward paying off real estate. I left the corporate world at 30 with enough rental income to support myself. But, contrary to a myth I heard when I was younger, two cannot live as cheaply as one, and four certainly can't. When ACA passed and we lost our individual health care plans, my degrees allowed me to again obtain employment, which with advancements since, again allows me to plow a lot of money back into my RE investments.

As far as whether it has helped me become a better LL or business person, I don't know that I could pinpoint specific things from formal education that have made me a better LL, but my career path as a result of having the degrees has made me a better LL and business person. My responsibilities at my day job make LL'ing seem like a walk in the park. As JR mentioned, there are intangibles that transfer over to LL'ing as well, not the least of which is the ability to deal with people in a firm but fair manner.

B.S in Business Administration/Marketing from CSUN (a local university).

After graduation, I knew that I would never have a job, so I created my own business. What a ride.

An old saying: Some people have jobs, but never work.

Others have no jobs but never stop working.

I'm a graduate of Indiana University. I hold a BS in Accounting and MBA in Finance. I'm also a licensed Certified Public Accountant and hold Series 6 and 65 Securities licenses. I started my career with one of the large accounting firms and held jobs with a couple of Fortune 500 companies prior to starting my own CPA firm over 30 years ago. I was like WMH when it came to encyclopedias. I read them from A to Z several times when I was a youth. I was pretty young when I completed all of this educational stuff; I had both degrees and had passed the CPA exam by the time I was 26 years old.

I have a Ph.D. in Physiological Ecology. To this day, the logic that led to my walking down that path baffles me. I think my college years did little or nothing to prepare me for landlording. Oh, to have taken just ONE bookkeeping class!

Well, actually, the seven months I spent living at a field station in a third-world country taught me to be adaptable, resilient, and manage my time and resources well. But I already had developed most of those attributes by then.

BS in civil engineering. Took a few MBA classes then realized it was more just jumping through more hoops and I should devote time and energy to RE.

Still have the w2 job as it's good for health insurance and getting mortgages, but I take about as much unpaid leave as my paid vacation.

The degree helped develop critical thinking and documentation skills. Happy I got mine when it was still somewhat reasonably priced.

I started out going for a Construction Management degree, the big recession in the early 80's caused me to switch into Computer Science, finished with a BS. Then got a good job and the company paid for the MBA.

I think you pick up many things you use the rest of your life (some you don't even realize). Accounting for setting up bookeeping, finance/statistics to evaluate deals and understanding the relationship of time and money, public speaking helped get over the jitters in front of people, computer courses fine tuned the ability to troubleshoot problems.

The real value was a good paying job that helped me accumulate enough wealth to buy into some properties so now I don't have to sell my time to line someone else's pockets.

All of my degrees don't count for anything.

But all the years I spent in universities DOES add up to ability to understand and analyze complex problems, including what actions are really solutions to problems and what is nonsense. Its not the degrees that count, it is the education that should have gone with it, and not the read-and-memorize part of the education, but the part of the education the hones your thinking skills.

Graduated high school and moved out on my own a month later. Spent 4 years at the local community college (had to work full time to support myself and pay for school).

Degree didn’t help one ounce in the rental property business. Got hired on at a very large insurance company at the age of 22 before they started requiring degrees. Worked my butt off there for the last 15 years and have made a good living for myself.

I'm impressed with every one's education. Wow! I went in so many different directions and attended three universities. Econ and Business degrees. I also have some trade schooling/certifications. I also had other business outside of real estate and business that required licencing in that trade (other than construction).

The people I know that stuck to one trade and got highly skilled/educated, found good paying employment. As an employee you never get "rich", you are on salary.

Degree in Music.

But...college got me out of the house, learned to take care of muself, learned I liked music as a hobby not a profession. Learned to set my own goals and discipline to practice my ....off all by myself inna practice room for hours each day. Delayed gratification.

Learned about people and a broader world.

Learned I could pull all nighters. Came in handy when working a full full time job with 3 little ones and could paint until dawn then go to work again

I hesitated about sending kids to college but learned each is different. I think we have to work a job and finally realize on our own the job is not going to take care of you.

My Father was a professor - He always said the only thing a diploma tells us is that you are TEACHABLE.

I got a Double Major in Undergrad and then went to Cornell but when Jimmy Carter said we aren't going to 1980 Olympics in Russia because they raided Afghanistan - I sold my boat , quit sailmaking and grad school and moved to Boston to sleep on Friends couches until I found a real job

My career in Commercial Real Estate Boston, Hartford, NYC & SF was a "who you Know" vs a diploma........ and the career in Yacht Racing was a gift from God

BS in accounting from the Univ of Iowa and a CPA. Learned to have fun and grow up while at college. Accounting degree allowed plenty of opportunities to find decent paying jobs. Degree also helped with the accounting, finance and contract parts of landlording.

The other half of my landlord education was provided by my mother. When graduating from college (1980) and a few years later after completing a Peace Corps assignment(1986 - 88), I moved back home for a few months until finding work and saving a few dollars. Upon arrival, my mother charged me rent ($250 per month to start). The rent was raised $50 every other month! The rent was up to $400 per month when I mentioned to my mother that her rent was more then a comparable apartment. Her answer: "I guess you are understanding my point." Her lessons were 1) you are no longer an adolescent and 2)as an adult, you need to carry your own weight, which includes paying on time and in full for services provided. (BTW - My rent payments were never refunded to me. We - my now 90 year old mother and I - still jokingly banter about when I might get that money back.)

Needless to say, I have no issue with collecting rents on time and raising rents on the annual renewal. I do hold up my end of the bargain and provide a very nice place to live and am timely when repairs and maintenance are required.

MBA University of Chicago

PhD UIC

EdD NIU

5-year (*wink) BS in Education (English) & minor in History (class of 1999) followed by a 2-year Associates Degree in Info Tech finished in 2004.

I work in Info Tech today, so my Associates degree helped me quite a bit more than my "big" degree. I only taught for 5 years in public HS.

As others have said, probably one of the most useful parts of higher education was learning to plan my day, pay my bills, and balance the load of life on my own without anyone supervising me. Had plenty of friends who were smart enough but never graduated because they couldn't get the discipline part worked out.

So yes, I think it helps. Could I have gone after degrees that helped more? Probably. Degrees that helped less? Definitely.

I think one of the most important jobs a parent has--other than loving their kids and providing for their physical needs--is getting in tune with where their talents and interests are, offering them guidance on what their options are, and then letting them "fly and be free" to succeed or fail. Cheer for them when they succeed...cry with them when they fail. Build them up to try again.

I think one of the best things I ever learned was persistence. Some of that I got in college, some from the military, some from being an REI, and some from being married to only one woman for almost 20 years. I may not be the smartest guy in the room, but once I set my heart on something I go for it until I get it and keep working to improve it.

Rivers--totally unintelligent things--cut 1,000 foot deep gorges out of solid rock with a couple hundred thousand years of persistence. Real Estate Investors call it "The Grind". It's why some succeed in spite of the odds being against them, and it's why some fail in spite of the odds being for them. Who gives up vs. who soldiers on?

I have a BA and MA that have nothing to do with being a landlord. I also have a paralegal certificate that has everything to do with being a landlord.

I've been employed full time as a senior paralegal for about 15 years and would recommend everyone take paralegal classes. They help you in life, in general. A little knowledge of the law is very, very handy.

two year associate degree in Agriculture Economics from Purdue University. Out of agriculture now, full time real estate. Like previous comments, learned more out of the classroom than IN the classroom. Luckily, I graduated with zero debt. Very grateful for it...

I have a Bachelors degree and a Masters degree. Bachelors is in Computer Information Systems with a minor in Accounting. Started out as Accounting major, but the new requirement to sit for the CPA exam turned me off. Already had enough credits for the minor, so it was a gimmie. I was planning on programming computers forever. I started working for a company that had tuition reimbursement, so went back and got an MBA with concentration in Finance. It was free, so why not?

All in all, the Accounting and Finance classes have helped a ton in LL'ing. Being able to evaluate properties, cash flow analysis, etc. Not sure you need formal degrees for that, but you get much more than a formal degree when attending college (as others have stated).

No formal education here I got my GED and school of hard knocks.

Two things an investor needs to know, you can do it with a high school diploma and don't go broke :)

BS Engineering, MBA Finance. Engineering helped me to think through things logically. Finance has been more helpful in designing the business for profitability.

Bachelor of Music and MBA from Boston University.

Neither helped at all with LL business. To me, from a financial point of view, terrible waste of time, energy and money for me. (I did not use the degrees)

I learned that schools are businesses - period. I helped pay for some professors salaries so that was a good thing - NOT! NO!

I have been self-employed since I was 19. That said, it was all just part of MY journey. Everyones is different and that is OK.

8 years, 10 months in the Navy. Graduated from four Navy technical schools-- EMT, and eyeballs. They paid me to go to school :) The time spent dealing with superior officers, lower ranked enlisted and Naval paperwork harden me to deal with tenants, courts, government administrators and elected officials.

Bachelor's degree, Elementary Education, 1979. Taught for 3 years, and quit when I realized that I would never be good at, or enjoy, teaching.

I think that while in college I learned how to use resources to research, that my psych classes helped with both tenants (and my kids)- and that my eyes were opened to the fact that, while I was lousy at maths like Geometry and Algebra, I was really good at Statistics and Accounting. Ask me to figure out the area of an irregular shape and I look at you and stare. Ask me to figure out the tax ramifications of a particular business decision, and I jump right in.

So, yes, it helped to an extent.

Got a BS in Bus Admin (marketing with minor in psychology - consumer behavior) then later earned an MBA in management. Some of my classes were beneficial - finance, economics, accounting, management, quantitative methods, etc. However, I think my MBA was more useful to my entrepreneurial endeavors.

I also earned 14 IT certifications in Cisco, Novell (yes I'm dating myself), Windows, Proj Mgmt, etc.

BS Mechanical Engineering

Masters in Business Administration

I have a BS in Engineering. Wife has an associate degree in engineering and a BS in nursing.

Yes, the degrees have definitely helped us with the LL business. The degrees got us good paying jobs that were used to finance our lifestyle (and kids) and then the start of the LL business. The degrees also taught us the analytical skills needed to make good LL decisions (might have made worse LL decisions without the engineering background).

We did not start LL until the kids were off the payroll, out of the house, and on their own.

Yes, our kids and their spouses all have BS and masters degrees (2 have doctorates). The degrees will give the kids additional job choices they would not have if they did not have the college degrees.

One son and DIL started buying RE 2 years ago and now have 5 properties. They are both engineers and analyze each deal like an engineer. Their goal is to have enough RE income to replace their jobs in the future.

Once the other 2 kids and spouses get settled, they will also become LL.

Nada - just HS for me. Got married at 18, he doesn't have a college degree either BUT we made sure education was a top priority for our kids. One graduated with an engineering degree from University of Michigan and the younger is finished with his Major and Minor and heading into student teaching this next year. We were successful because we worked hard and spent our money wisely. We aren't rich but we are happy and prosperous and self-educated ourselves enough to be so.

Nada - just HS for me. Got married at 18, he doesn't have a college degree either BUT we made sure education was a top priority for our kids. One graduated with an engineering degree from University of Michigan and the younger is finished with his Major and Minor and heading into student teaching this next year. We were successful because we worked hard and spent our money wisely. We aren't rich but we are happy and prosperous and self-educated ourselves enough to be so.

Undergrad degree Political science

Masters - MBA concentration in Finance

BS in accounting 1996

MS in Education 2000

Any education will help you become better well rounded with life experiences. A financial background does help a lot.

BS in accounting 1996

MS in Education 2000

Any education will help you become better well rounded with life experiences. A financial background does help a lot.

Cjo'h, my friend's daughter married an Irishman from Limerick. I could listen to his voice all day. :) The three of them are going over this fall to visit his family, see the Book of Kells, and kiss the Blarney Stone, etc. I said, "Wow, you even have a native guide!"

A little late to the party, but here it is:

After graduating HS I couldn't wait to be done with school and swore I'd never go back. I moved out on my own as soon as I graduated. I started reading all of the financial and business books, magazines, and self-help guides I could get my hands on while working full-time. Did that constantly for about 10 years (until my wife threatened to leave me).

I thought I was going to go into the finance field but it didn't happen. But instead I turned my first home into a rental when we upgraded and never looked back.

I decided to go to college when I was in my thirties...just to prove to myself I could do it. Received a BS in Business Mgmt and another in Marketing. I figured they would also help me in the LL business.

I don't believe that a college education is of utmost importance. It can be a good tool, but I would prefer a trade school or technical school. And I think taking jobs for the what you can learn from it is more important than just earning money.

Just so that young people can have a different perspective on life I would recommend that they read Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I would also recommend they listen to Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey for common sense on money. Financial education is/has been the key for me.

Roy, on behalf of mph and myself I would like to thank you for posing this question and also to you others who kept the American economy on an even keel,while we found our footing.Peter for keeping BU alive and welll so Margaret could become head of the Scyc Department in Connecticut.merci beau coup again and again,no

As I think back, my education prepared me to be a corporate employee. The problem was that my personality was not suited for that and that was the main reason I started my CPA firm. Most of the accounting and finance I learned in school was designed to support having a job in corporate America, not supporting small business and individual clients that I wound up with when I started my firm. This required me to learn new things. One of the things they don't teach you in college is how to run your own business. Their job is to supply corporate America with compliant employees. That was never my thing.

There's a huge difference between the early 80's when I completed grad school and now. I graduated into full employment where jobs were plentiful and even in graduate school, my tuition at Indiana was around $ 800 a semester. The same MBA degree today will set you back about $ 100,000 and the job market is questionable. Common sense dictates a very close evaluation of the worth of college.

I'm a big believer in education, but at a reasonable cost. I also don't go for this name brand business where you're supposed to shoehorn your kid into the "best school" for several thousand dollars a year. I've come to believe that college is a scam anymore and one has to be careful otherwise you throw you and your kid into financial peril.

My youngest kid won an athletic scholarship so his college is essentially paid for. My oldest kids went the community school route for two years and then to a four year school. They weren't sure what they wanted to do and my thing is that if you want to "explore", we're going to do it at the community college rate versus spending $ 30,000 to do it at a state school. There's no way I would spring for an Ivy league type school either. I don't care for so called "elite" types---I worked with many of these types of folks when I was in corporate and I found most of them to be detestable. Moreover, a degree from one of these institutions doesn't generate the same mileage for everyone anyway.

MBA from Chapman

Undergrad was from SIU

Granddaughter took Community College classes in high school, "earned" a mentor who worked with her throughout CC to ensure she took the right classes to transfer to a state university (which she did) and now has been taking classes for her Masters. She will graduate in May with her Bachelors in Education then finish out her Masters next year. Between a few small scholarships, a few small student loans, a part time job at a Montessori School, and a little help from Gramma and Grampa, she will graduate with about $20k in loans after 5 or so years.

Her parents helped her by allowing her to live at home the entire time without paying rent (although she pays for her stuff - phone, car insurance, etc.)