I have been offered a full time position as an auditor but the office I am in does not have any clients within the real estate industry.

Crowdfunding makes real estate easily accessible, however, in regard to institutional real estate investments, the advice of an expert who works in the industry every day, knows all the players and their track records, and performs due diligence on each offering is a great benefit to you and comes to you at no cost. 

This is why startups, almost exclusively bring in equity, not debt.But you could look for private lenders that will take a pref equity position to help fund your investments.  

Considering I work in the CRE industry & don't have a W-2 I've read that it's typically harder to get approved.

I've met with NetWorth Realty here in Atlanta and they work exclusively with 212 Loans.

There are a lot of career paths in this industry to think about, and maybe staying in the industry, just not as an agent, would be something that would keep you engaged in real estate and give you better insight into investing.

The two do not do the same thing at all and they are not mutually exclusive. 

I'm syndicating my first two investments, both of which are industrial properties, closing before the end of the year. 

We purchased a condo with industrial style and there is one exposed air duct in the living room.

The NNN also put a lien on the property to ensure the passive member couldn't sell the property solo, as his name was on the deed exclusively.