In regards to your question your best option that I see is attend your local REIA group there's a lot in New Jersey just head to meetup.com and browse various groups and attend the ones before the 15th you'll be able to find local contractors there. 

Practice analyzing deals, use the calculators, browse the listings for your intended area everyday.

However, I'm realizing that as I’m browsing this site and google I find that it seems like the world of real estate investing is like a giant map and each forum post I read or each listing I see or every site I go to is just a dart thrown randomly at that map.

Browse around and I'm sure you will learn a lot.

I have been browsing this forum for many months and have learned so much.

Usually this fixes most browsing issues.

I have been browsing this site for a while and have now decided that its time to ask the community for some help.I successfully prepared for the RE Licensing class, and passed.

Then browse the available listings to fine tune - what's actively available is what's going to be your competition anyway so you'd better be competitive. 

Browsing the forums?

I would browse the local PM sites to see what the average rate is for your area.