If you are someone who wants to get paid for using your creative talents than pursuing a career as a professional photographer is an excellent choice. Photography is one of the few fields where your age and college degree are not as important as your creativity and attention to detail. A degree in photography will teach you how to snap a picture at the perfect moment.
The very first thing you should do when trying to figure out how to become a photographer is to speak to (or learn about) professional photographers. Learning about them and how they built the path to their career is going to do wonders for your future. It is also a good idea to explore the different kinds of photography. A lot of people end up discovering they are a lot better once they master a certain type of photography.
A lot of people assume that because they are becoming professional photographer they need to purchase a fancy new expensive camera. Unfortunately, this could not be farther from the truth. In fact, from a business point of view it doesn’t really make a lot of sense to pour a lot of money into a piece of equipment for a career you are just starting out in. It is better to use a cheaper camera until you can afford to purchase a more expensive. It is not really the camera that makes the photographer or the photograph. Anyone can take a picture, it takes a good photographer to take a great picture.