For starters, I suggest you tune in to the BiggerPockets Podcast and connect with the local lenders and brokers.

I have a lot of money saved up from a sales job, and I am thinking about doing Michael Blank's 1 on 1 mentorship program that guarantees getting a 30-60 unit deal within a year, but the program costs 30k. 

As a side note, feel free to throw suggestions and let me know its a dumb move to buy property as primary residence and pay 7.5% mortgages, sit out. :) I wont mind at all.

lower the size of your unit and therefore your build cost per unit, your sale price will go down but focus on density and get familiar with zoning and what your city will approve. my best suggestion is to do it in downtown districts where there is unlimited height and unlimited floor area and you can build every square inch of the property and reduce parking because of proximity to transit. property values are higher, rents are higher in downtown markets, there are just too many economies of scale compared to suburban deals.

I am investing in REI for my families future and have absolutely no intent of looking to "get rich quick", replace a job, or use father time as an excuse to make hasty decisions and potentially leveraging myself too far.

I know that there are companies out there as well as independent contractors and wanted to know where to start or any suggestions. 

I suggest working with @Jordan Moorhead and his team.

I have a W2 job in a high tax bracket, but we are planning on owning Airbnb’s that my wife actively manages along with her working as a real estate agent...Our goal was to have her materially involved so that we could write off potential losses against my W2 income.

At a bare minimum, I suggest reviewing the Fannie/Freddie guidelines. 

I have seen people hiring designers from out of country for around $10/hour then have a handyman assemble and arrange the furniture from pictures which sounds feasible.Any suggestions?