Many of you have the experience, knowledge and skill set  to use it to your advantage.

Do you have any skills you could offer to a real estate office or similar organization?

I've detailed elsewhere on BP how to make those joists suitable for drywall, but it's skilled work and it takes time.

As a beginner, think "easy" unless you possess strong renovation skills.

Find a way where you can increase your income skills and earning power or find a way to start a business from school online.  

Hi Josh,If you're going to do this, you'll need to find the leak and fix it before fixing the ceiling.If it's wet up there beware of electricity too.The ceiling can be a homeowner fix (how well it's done is up to you and your skill).If you choose to try it, you'll will need to match the drywall texture, and prime the fix and entire discolored area with primer that covers water spots, and repaint the area to match (or the whole ceiling).If the drywall is heavily damaged that will need to be replaced too.The sell texture repair spray to help with this (see YouTube for how to use it).Good Luck!

I’m about to do a rehab in Ridgewood and the median price there is 707,000, location is vitally important. 

If REI is your chosen endeavor after the Corps, work on building your real estate skills and a great team  with subs, agents, attorneys, etc.

This will help you to develop the skills to track, manage, and develop what to do with leads when they come in.

The knowledge and skills of repair work and dedication was there but the knowledge of real estate investing needs attention now.How did you find this deal and how was in negotiated?