Luckily for you, thunder-crapping is a teachable skill and not something one is born or not born with, so you can do it too haha.

So because of limited number of available skilled workers and the massive amount of projects that are wanting to be done the demand is just incredibly high.

@David J CarciereNever ever ever rent to anybody you are unwilling to evict.

In other words, using that money in a safe way where you can improve your knowledge and skills in investing, and earn money at the same time, will give you the overall best return regardless of how much the 20k makes you in one year’s time. 

Use a few small rentals as a proof of concept and to hone in your landlord skills, systems, and to get a team in place.

I have a lot of home repair skills/renovation experience and am confident I could be successful doing another flip, however I'm very intrigued by the possibility of passive income thru rentals (fully acknowledging the potential headaches).What would you wise people recommend?

Both are a skill.

You definitely have skills that another interested investor could find appealing and therefore partnering up is a possibility to look into.  

That's awesome that yours are involved at such a young age - they'll have those skills forever and they'll always be useful!

what I like about your story is you being a military pilot  the training and skills required the discipline etc that can and does transfer to the real world..