Then there is the potential need to set up a trust or a US corporation. 

My wife and I are both employed elsewhere so we are not intending to pay ourselves from real estate investment, only looking to build a profitable portfolio.I think I can avoid self-employment tax by setting up an "S" corporation for the entity that "holds" property.

Do a google search 'florida secretary of state corporation search'  The first 'hit' is for the SOS of Florida, to search by name.

These past few months I've been thinking about the possible paths I can take after graduation which is a) enter the corporate world/work with a small developer firm or b) begin my path in the REI. 

My real estate experience is in managing Class A & B properties: high-rise laboratory, research parks, industrial parks, mid-rise office parks, office and industrial condominiums, and a corporate campus.

@Thomas Veal , for what it's worth, in reading Garrett Sutton's book "Start Your own Corporation" he is not in favor of series LLCs mainly because, per his report, they have never been "tested" so he wouldn't count on them providing the same type of asset protection as multiple separate LLCs.Beyond that, search BP for asset protection... you'll find people strongly in the camp of utilizing LLCs and many people strongly against them stating you should just have a large umbrella insurance policy.

This is a litigious business and its good to protect your personal assets from some of the crazies out there :D You don't need to go nuts with a website, tons of branding, etc, just set up a basic corporation or LLC instead of operating under your own name. 

I find it hard to believe that the rich/big corporations would open numerous accounts for coverage.

And for me the only way to do that is not flipping (I probably would ware me out like a corporate job) but just buy a property or two here and there.

Memphis is the town that has several corporate HQs (lots of jobs) and a strong rental market.Your first priority has to be getting a steady job.