What skills and experience did you require?  

At 23, I am currently working towards my license to be an architect, and I am curious to see how my skills and education can apply to real estate investing.

Franks frustration is all too common, and I fully sympathize with his situation.It seems like the simple task of answering and/or returning a phone call is a skill many people have lost.

The dont call it the "overkill" art for nothing,

Get some art, blankets, pillows, rugs, side tables, bookshelves (with books), etc. 

Some basic excel skills and zillow/redfin data make it easier to decide, "where do I start?"

I am sure you can think of 100 ways that your experience & skill set make you valuable to an investor.

This way you can add value right away while learning from others on the team that have the skills / knowledge you need to have.If you don't have the time, knowledge or interest to be active (think of this as another job really to actively operate your own apartment community), but like apartments you can invest passively with good apartment operators who already have the solid model of success that you want and with intention, learn from them while you are earning. 

While it doesn't have industry, it has the best Hospital in America (Cleveland Clinic), a new Amazon Center is being built there, an up and coming food and beer scene (two of the top 50 breweries in the world are in CLE), and loads of other scenes (art, music, etc) that gives the sense that Cleveland is doing what Pittsburgh did and is making a come back.

Think about what best suits your skills.