Several people have recommended  that a new real investor acquire a real estate license for the education this process will provide. For someone planning to invest out of state but not yet sure of location, from an educational benefit perspective does it matter which state I get the license in, and can anyone recommend a good source of real estate licence training materials?  

@Daniel B. I would not personally get my license if I didn't know what state I was going to be investing in.  I initially got my license to help me gain access to properties to invest in here in the Chicago western suburbs in the Berwyn/Oak Park area. I ended up building a business helping other investors acquire there first investment properties.  This would never have happened though if I was licensed in a state I didn't live in! There are also a decent amount of costs associated with being a realtor, and the "education" is mostly just to keep you from breaking any fair housing laws, etc.  

I would focus more on determining which location you want to invest in. Get to know that market and figure out which investing strategy you want to use.