Maybe a contractor whose income varies. 

It does not take that many hours to look at a property, sign a contract or even manage tenants.If you are bored in your 9-5 it's time to move on to a job where you learn and get challenged so you can grow.

Also a good opportunity to learn some DIY maintenance and make some contractor contacts,etc.  

Those are the hard working contractors you want to start with.

For now, staying local allows me to leverage my property management experience—most of which came from working directly for family and close business associates who were property managers, contractors, and business owners.

The first thing I recommend is to build your CORE 4(Realtor, contractor, attorney, and property manager) on wherever you decide to invest.

I gained an interest in Real Estate while looking for a contractor that also worked with an investor that has rent to own home we worked for.

You can find lots of real estate related resources (wholesalers, buyers, contractors, realtors, lenders, property managers etc.) 

Be an area expert on contracts, zoning, value add components, contractors, and so much more. 

If I hired $75/hr contractors to do my work, I wouldn't have made a penny in real estate.