You're absolutely right about someone taking a chance. At 17 I basically walked into a woodworking shop, spoke with the owner and told him how passionate I was

You're absolutely right about someone taking a chance. At 17 I basically walked into a woodworking shop, spoke with the owner and told him how passionate I was about working with my hands and showed him some things I had made. We talked hand-tools and he hired me to sweep the floors, deal with the scrap and sawdust and do the rough mill work. I had no intention of going to college so I took my GED and quit school. At 17 I was still living at home and, at that, age it was not odd or stressful to myself or my parents. I also didn't need much money so making minimum wage was not an issue. I didn't even own a car at first. I rode my bike everywhere and got rides with co-workers when the weather was really bad. By the time I needed more money I had experience and was making more because of it. I was also attending community college at night because 2.5 years of working in a trade made me realize that college might be a good idea. Another trick is to not waste too much time on school if you don't intend to go to college.