Career Path to Get Started in Investing

[Account Closed]

Hi all, I've been working as a mortgage loan originator in the Phoenix area for about the last two years at this point. During my time in the industry, I have really been interested in getting started to invest in real estate myself. I feel like I have gained a lot of knowledge on the lending side of things, but at this point I am ready to move on to the next stage of my career. I was wondering if anybody had any suggestions on jobs/positions to look into and apply for to help further expand my knowledge in real estate investing and the real estate market as a whole. I don't think I'm in a position financially to begin investing in properties at this point, but I would like my next position to help expand my knowledge of the industry that may be different than the lending side of things, and could position me in the future to begin investing myself.

I guess my question would be, does anybody have any suggestions on good positions/companies to help further your knowledge and get your foot in the door for real estate investing? I know nobody's path is the same, but wanted to see if anybody had success when it comes to setting themselves in a position to get into real estate investing down the road. I have thought about potentially looking into becoming an agent, but with the market right now and many of the agencies I've seen being commission based only it seems like that path may not be suitable at this time.

If anybody has any suggestions on what to look into that would be much appreciated. Also, if anybody is in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area and would like to connect I'd be more than happy to! Ultimately very motivated to learn as much as I can about real estate investing and get my own journey started.