II see you are living in the USA so i cannot advise much specifically… my training came through a goverment sponsored Agricultural Training course (we are wickedly socialist like that)
I HIGHLY suggest taking a course at least, if you can suppliment that with a group of experienced bee-keepers then you will do well.
Bees are, in the main, self-managing - but when things go bad you can lose a hive very, very quickly. And this is even here in Oz where we are free from the problems keepers face in the US.
This advice stays when looking at grabbing gear especially if you are thinking of migrating to the Flowhive (which is incredible), just be aware that older and more conservative keepers think the Flowhive is the devil incarnate and will cause the end of life as we know it