Maybe you should make friends with somebody that works in the field your interested in. I to am a photographer
And it is true, it is hard as hell to make it a professional in this field. So what did I do? I made friends with an established pro and work as his assistant for his shoots. Doing it this way, I get all the experience and fun of the hobby, without all the pressure and B.S. ! I still do my own work on the side and my friend pays me to do some of his Photoshop editing when he is running behind schedule. I find that I enjoy my hobby so much more as a quasi pro then dealing with the stress of actually being one.
I hope this helps.