Hidden fees in a transaction: How to anticipate one and avoid another?
I understand that the &quot;dynamic network fee&quot; is part of the process of operating the blockchain and cannot be avoided. But how can I anticipate in advance how much to expect this fee to be?

Without knowing how the exchange operates their wallet internally, this is unpredictable. Many exchanges will display an estimate for the transaction fee, but the transaction fee itself all depends on how they work. The transaction fee is not based on the amount being transacted; rather it is based on the size in bytes of the transaction itself. This size cannot be known without knowing how the exchange is creating their transactions.

I've read that it's possible to transact bitcoin without using an exchange, and I suppose this would eliminate the price premium. What does one have to do in order to transact without an exchange?

You simply download and install a Bitcoin wallet software and use it to receive and send Bitcoin. The wallet software will allow you to create Bitcoin addresses which you can give out in order to receive Bitcoin. It will also allow you to send Bitcoin to addresses that you have received from others. Bitcoin.org has a page which lists out some wallet software that you can download.