You could try your hand at one of the numerous online services that advertise this stuff but I've found it better to start the relationship early with an actual person as opposed to a faceless online service. 

Just finished my major in Business Management and am receiving my Management and Supervision certificate this summer.I've been studying real estate for a few years now, have watched tons of videos, calculated and ran numbers on numerous properties and listings, and talked with many lenders and real estate agents, but because I don't have anyone in my circle that's well-experienced in REI's I've hesitated to pull the trigger on anything.I'm looking to fix and flip, BRRR, LTR, MTR, STR, or multi-family.

I have double checked each lock individually.

In some areas code will allow you to increase the overall density, significantly, and whether you build individual stick tiny homes or connected condos/multifamily, still a model to follow for streamlining your financing/package.

Franchises like Coldwell Banker and RE/MAX have very expensive fees and then each individual office has their own fee structure.

We are currently building Single Family homes dedicated to investors, in individual lots in the area.

Buying HUD homes was just a better fit for me than contacting individual sellers. 

Even if there are some local newbies or even well experienced individuals who may share similar inquires. 

- Taxes: If I invest as an individual, would I get the tax benefits of investing directly in RE (owning a SFH for e.g.) or are the dividends taxed as ordinary income?

Usually there is not a universally true right and wrong investment decision that applies the same to every individual.