Welcome @
KVaidya! As @
Colin mentioned, there are some great resources for getting a handle on how PBP works.
The biggest differences between BPB and tabletop and BP, are that, in PBP, your entire group is not online at the same time. Everyone logs in when they can and posts when they can. This can be a good thing as it gives you time to craft your post, carefully thinking out your actions, and reading up on how certain things work. But, it also can be a bad thing if you don't know up front that you aren't going to play a module in 5 hours. Five WEEKS maybe... if everyone is very engaged.
That brings up another pitfall of PBP. players, and sometime the GM, sometimes will disappear without notification. Sometimes they will appear again after weeks, months or years. Sometimes you never see them again. It especially sucks when it is your GM and you just finished building your characters. But it does happen. Sometimes it is because life interferes, sometimes it is because people don't realize how long it takes to play a game in PBP.
5E is one of our most popular games, and yes, there is fierce competition to get into games. You will often see 10-20 applications for one game. Some advice, read the GM Character Creation Guidelines carefully. Also, look at the other characters being submitted...if you got 17 clerics being submitted, you may want to not play a cleric!
Another option is to jump into one of the
Adventurer League Games. They are first come first play.
As Colin mentioned, we have a Discord channel. It is also a great way to chat with people, get to know the community, and possibly find a game.
Most of all have fun. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Check out all the other parts of our forum. Jump into conversations you know about. Ask about game systems you don't know about. Being visible, and posting on other topics will help you build a reputation, and may turn into another option for a game.