re: my story
I went to architecture school, attracted by a major space station project they had done just before I got there. At the time, manned space was in the toilet, and the entire aerospace engineering department was building balloon payloads and satellite instruments.
Minnesota also had an "apprentice-type" program where one could get a license with a certain level of practical experience under your belt, and I agree that this route should be available in a lot of industries.
It's pretty much how I got into the space field.