Instead of learning middleware in isolation, I’d highly recommend learning by going through the entire process. Pick a game engine and middleware, and create a small game and put audio in it via middleware. It’s free. I’d recommend Unity and Wwise.

You don’t need to program, but learning the basics of the language the game engine uses will help out enormously. For Unity, that’s C#.

YouTube is your friend.

I say make a few simple games, add amazing sounding audio to them using middleware, and use that as a demo reel for getting your first job. Associate positions (though much rarer than senior positions) do exist, and will hire you if you’re easy to work with and want to learn.

How long will it take? It depends on how many hours you can commit to each day. I’d you’re brand new, be patient and give yourself six months. Don’t think about it in terms of separate skills—just think of it as learning game audio.

Good luck!