Aspiring Contractor... Advice Sought.

peterjs212

How ya doin' everybody? Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

A little background: I'm 21 years old, currently working as a recruiter for a staffing agency and attending college at night. I always thought I'd be interested in doing something "with my hands", for lack of a better phrase, and this has only become more apparent in the last 5 or 6 years that I have been working office jobs.

I am just not built for the 9 to 5 office thing, but I haven't had an opportunity to really do anything else. It just seems infinitely more appealing (and profitable) to me to (eventually) be self-employed in a trade. It's what I see myself being happy doing 10, 20, 30 years down the line. My first job was at my dad's law firm when I was 15, and ever since then I've been working in offices doing administrative work and now, recruiting.

My problem is... I don't know where to begin. I don't have any friends who work in trades or intend to, nor do I have any basis with which to access very basic information.* except the Internet

What is:
1) the best way to find out what trade would be best for me;
2) the best way to learn or apprentice that trade (voc/tech school; apprenticeship?

Any other thoughts, questions or comments/advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.