This is where I'm very inexperinced and don't understand what is standard for industry or what could potentially bite me down the road.

I'm Igor - a revenue management expert with over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

I recognize there are other ways I could invest this cash (including another property) but I am being mindful of levering myself out too much in the current environment where job losses are more common in my industry (tech).

I'm starting to realize that investing is something I want to consider learning for long term as I spend more time in this industry.

In the "industry", you would use an "Acquisition/Rehab" loan that allows you to use part of the loan to apply to the purchase of the property and you'll have some loan funds left over to use for the rehab.

Or the house construction industry in general where they build for $X and sell for $X+margin?

Though I would caution you on hard money lending until you understand the industry a bit better, that can be very rewarding but you have to be able to do your due diligence on deals because you're turning over your hard-earned money to an individuals project, often a flip. 

So basically wholesaling is really not the wave to go because it's nearly getting banned and there are ppl in the industry who try to **** you up because I have know clue what I'm doing?

A young population plus a growing industry makes for good long term investments, but unless you are really scaling the cashflow can be hit or miss. 

Beside the government regulation and insurance shutting down certain markets, STR industry will continuously grow.