Joining a team can be a great jump start since you'll pitch in on deals in progress and have chances to do open houses, work with buyers they've found, etc.  

I have an opportunity to join a larger commercial firm.

Just by joining you are taking the 1st step to financial freedom.Ultimately, you will need to decide on your ultimate goal for investing in real estate and then determine how you want to get involved/start.

I’m stationed at SJAFB and am interested in joining an REI group.

Join a REIA.

Beach is a whole different thing, and ultimately my post (see title) was looking for direction on the proper place to post my questions or even find a specific person to help me evaluate the opportunity (maybe a pro or co-host opportunity) because I learned in two minutes on this forum since I joined that there is more to it than the “profit” from one year of STR.

We should have joined our State LL Association-or similar-on day one but we did not know they existed.

I joined my broker for the flexibility to train, get support, and work outside of regular hours and joined a local team that supports that. 

Feel free to join us.

I have been to seminars, joined mastermind groups, and can confidently say I have one of the best mentors in the business.