New to RE - Please Advise!

[Khizer Ghani]

Hi Everyone, 

I am new to this forum as well as RE. I have 25 y/o with a solid job in IT. 
I have zero knowledge about real estate and my plan is to eventually get into flipping or development. 
My question is what is the best approach to learn ins and outs of RE. Transactions, deals, links, connections.. How can I get exposure to all this? 
Should I just get a RE license or is there something else that does not cost 4k and year to complete?

I really appreciate any input I can get. Thank you so much!