When we bought a house we were first time home buyer, so we didnt have a lot of knowldge, and we didnt know how to negotiate. ( Realtor didnt really help to negotiate, and lessson learned. ) We don't have a lot of equity in it. 

I am 24 and have time to learn and give myself the best shot possible. 

Before making any investments, spend some time learning about real estate investment.

Best of luck on your learning and investing journey! 

I’m still in the learning phase of real estate investing.

Thanks to plenty of smart people here on BiggerPockets, I have learned that it may be possible to offset a portion of this unexpected higher W-2 income with the purchase and "active management" of a STR. 

Keep learning...but if you really want to get involved, that means you will eventually have to take action. 

My short-term goals are to purchase one property a year for the next 3-5 years through house hacking but I am also interested in learning about and pursuing other strategies in real estate investing.

Or tools, among a lot others, that you should have in your REI toolbox and learn how they influence each other and how to use them. 

@Kyle BrownRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder, etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.