I am new to real estate and feel the best thing to do to get started would be to continue to educate myself.

I had a rental property for 12 year before I recently sold for some profit, unfortunately for me I was not as educated then as I am now (and continuing to learn) with BiggerPockets and other investment educational opportunities. 

It's a great idea if they're educated on the pros/cons and know how to protect themselves.

It's no Aspen, lol.Because this market is no Gatlinburg or FL Panhandle, etc...it's hard to say that the realtor and all involved are as educated as realtors in the other prominent markets. 

Buy a house--rent it out.But get educated about this first so you don't end up with a Money Pit.

My goal is to get into RED from a sustainable standpoint and I understand that experience or getting started beats education any day, but just wanted to get further feedback on the same.

I had the mindset that I needed to be educated before I jump into real estate and that the DMV area was too expensive for a beginner but that mindset started to become an excuse.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

After several years of education, preparation, and researching countless markets and strategies, my wife and I finally turned all the theory into reality and bought our first rental property in 2020.

Have you checked out having your class paid for by a military education source (in some form)?