New Guy in WA Here!

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I’m 19 (almost 20) years old in Washington State looking to start investing in real estate. I recently graduated college with a B.S in biochemistry and started a production job at 40k/year with about 20k in savings and no debt at all. I’m currently moving back home from Seattle to Federal Way in the next 4 months and looking to save further to buy my first multifamily home.

With that introduction I would like to get my real estate license so that I can actively look on the MLS and handle my own deals. I may also want to pursue being an agent as a part-time gig as well but I want to be an agent primarily for my own interests. I believe this is necessary so that I can acquire investment properties to cash flow and ideally get deals by acting swiftly.

On these lines I have several questions in regards to hanging my license and if it may be to soon for me to try to do. While I plan to save aggressively I still don't see how I could be buying lots of houses per year. Are there places where I can hang my license and only pay on deals that I do as to avoid monthly fees? Also am I missing other costs aside from monthly dues, insurance and potential cost to access the MLS? Any advice in regards to putting this off or pursuing this further would be greatly appreciated!

I also have a couple other questions I may as well ask while I’m here. Based on my yearly income how can I properly estimate how much I can spend when looking at duplexes/triplexes/4-plexs? Furthermore how can I determine what I could likely get financing for with an owner occupied first home without actually applying for financing quite yet? I’m just trying to set goals for myself and look towards what I need to save up too. My mother will also be more than happy to cosign for me we both have good credit (750+) and she does very well for herself.

I suppose I just have no basis for what I can actually afford/get into here and am looking for guidance. I'm open to anything and willing to put in the effort, book recommendations based on this post would be greatly appreciated as well. 

Thanks for helping me get started and sorry if this is a little long! I hope I can contribute to the community as I read more and get more involved in real estate!