I can't find many reviews online.

This is the best website to help you learn online about investing in RE.

All I've seen online was very positive stuff, but maybe we are biting off more than we can chew for our first investment.

I know about house-hacking, I guess it’s just a matter of weighing whether we should just get an apartment & save for a duplex, or go ahead & purchase a home & begin building equity in that, & then start buying investment properties after we’ve established our own home.Is there a logical path that you see?

In my head not knowing where to start as far as numbers or anything for that matter, this is something a developer would take on, right?

No matter where you live, these rate of return is not sustainable. 

I feel like no matter how much I learn through books, podcasts, forums etc., I will never feel comfortable until I get to see and do things in real life. 

But there isn't a lot of calculation involved, other than figuring out what your payments would be on different principal amounts, and any widely available online mortgage calculator can do this for you in two seconds. 

., don’t forget the CPA and Lawyer costs) Again Net Operating Income is calculated before debt - what matters more is the NET Annual Income (or annual cash flow): NET Annual Income = Net_Operating_Income - Mortgage_PaymentsAnd that leads to the Cash on Cash Return on Investment: C/C ROI = Annual Cash Flow / (Down Payment + Closing Costs)And I’m willing to bet you don’t get C/C ROI above 10% on any SFR in Austin area (based on these calculations and bought with conventional means, not subject-to or assumptions, or owner financing or other creative financing).

That being said, many of the courses from the MA in RE degree you outlined are offered online and in person in NY.