Take your time to research and interview several brokerages beyond eXp to see if they fit what you need in your career right now. 

My wife started her career by 1st getting a realtor's license, then got a job with a real estate agent who's a former classmate.

The state’s housing is also ranked as the fourth most affordable in the country.Alabama currently has the second-lowest average property tax rate in the country at 0.4%, which helps investors keep more of the money they earn.

I wanting to make a career change and was curious if it makes sense to do all , if not majority of the renovations and pay myself instead of paying contractors?

If you are also living below your means, saving, and reinvesting after tax dollars you can get the ball rolling faster.Nothing ruins an investing career faster than a surprise $20,000 CapEx bill to a new investor who has $2,000 in the bank and just spent every penny they have on a high risk property. 

I continue to work and earn to cover my costs and save some. 

I'm 51, been a corporate drone for most of my career, but made a leap of faith about two years ago and launched a small but growing tent and event rental business as a side gig.

Keep saving and saving and saving and earning so your lendability gets stronger.

The state’s housing is also ranked as the fourth most affordable in the country.Alabama currently has the second-lowest average property tax rate in the country at 0.4%, which helps investors keep more of the money they earn.

Your ability to be honest about your investment, and be honest about your positive and negative actions, tells me that you would have a VERY successful career investing in real property.