Do you need to be a loan officer to work for a hard money lender?

[Eric P Martin]

I'm looking for the lowest entry-point level to generate cash flow and learn the real estate business. Getting a license to become a loan officer seems to be a great entry point to enter the industry while I build up my real estate network from scratch. I was wondering if hard money lenders or private lenders require you to be licensed as a mortgage loan Officer to find them new clients. Or, do they work on offering a referral fee? If so, how does that work? Is there a referral agent contract normally provided?