I just became an agent and I'm (hopefully) getting my first property this year.
However, you'll need to understand that you have to be licensed where you will be investing in order to have direct benefits like saving commissions, etc. Also, be advised that the broker you work under will most likely not waive the commissions on every investment property you acquire. They'll probably waive it once. Additionally as a licensed agent, you could have a greater liability depending on what you are doing. There are costs involved(about $2000 here in NJ) to be an agent but if your partner will pay for it, that's not an issue.
Having said that, I highly recommend taking the class to get your license. It was $399 with the book for a NJ license class. I did it with a school that offered a revolving curriculum a few nights per week so you could attend days that fit your schedule and you would cover each chapter multiple times. I really enjoyed the class and it was bitter sweet when it came time for me to exit the class and take the test. I also ended up joining my instructor's brokerage as he is also an investor and I'm hoping to gain a mentor out of it as well. I actually did this because real estate really interests me and I'm hoping to eventually transition out of my current full time occupation into RE sales and investing full time. I don't plan to invest here in NJ so I figured there wasn't much downside.