I'm a beginner as well, but have been reading this site enough to see the recommended (over and over) approach is to leverage your presumably un-tied-down youth to move every 2 years, each time using 3.5% down payments to buy multifamily buildings / house hacks. 

I would recommend shadowing a few loan brokers for the first 3 months being newly licensed. 

@Greg StrunakA good real estate accountant can save you thousands of dollars by leveraging entity selection and formation, tax deductions, cost segregations, bonus depreciation and tax planning.I recommend finding an accountant who specializes in real estate taxation, business taxation, financial planning and tax planning.You may want to consider working with your accountant remotely to expand your options.I would also recommend looking for a accountant willing to work with you throughout the year.

As you mention, if you are using hard money yes you are paying more in interest and if you hvae the cash I would recommend using cash over hard money due to the high interest rate that you are paying.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

I recommend doing a flip when you do not have any money.

For those who have more experience investing - what would you recommend I do here? 

STR management is 20-25% (I would recommend self managing or getting a VA), since income is higher you could probably get away with 5% for maintenance / cap ex but remember you need to cover utilities and cleaning for these units which drives up costs.

Professional guidance can be obtained from local personal experts experienced in your particular niche.