My advice is to get a real estate centric job, save and obtain practical real estate experience.

I advise that you get a job working as a PM for at least a year before trying to manage someone's investment.

I was interested in this deal because of its proximity to a planned casino development in Bessemer City, which promised to bring jobs, economic growth, and increased housing demand to the area.

Job growth, population growth, developments, home value growth, etc?

OK, have fun with that.BiggerPockets does a great job of making it easy to get a first glimpse of someone.

Does anyone here hold a full-time job and do real estate investing on the side, if so what is that like?

Investing in multifamily properties in Philadelphia is popular due to the city's steady population growth, job opportunities, relatively affordable property values, and solid rental demandPhiladelphia’s multifamily market offers a range of opportunities, from high-end neighborhoods to up-and-coming areas with great cash flow potential.

I moved from Portland OR to Columbus OH because of lower entry costs and strong population and job market growth trends.

What software is everyone using for job costing on flips? 

They do 2 jobs...e.g one job and then Uber or Skip the dishes so they are never really at home but about 10 students living there so 2 per room.