Where to start

Hi, I'm currently 18 and shot a decent amount of local gigs for hotels, hair salons, and the community in general. I would like to know if most photographers went to school for it or are self taught? I took 2 years worth of photography classes in my high school, luckily my teacher was a professional who had his own business because I was able to learn a lot even though it was a high school course. I was able to win a scholarship for winning a district contest for best portfolio but where do I go from here? I'm currently attending a local junior college getting my GE and was thinking about continuing to major in architecture and eventually transfer to Cal Poly or leave after a few semesters and enroll in Brooks institute in Santa Barbara. I created a portfolio and now some people told me I'm going to need a business card, if anybody has any recommendations on which company to choose please let me know. I would like to know how photographers started up, what inspired them and is it hard to make a decent living. Thanks for you time

This question has been asked a hundred times. I don't think schooling is necessary, but it might open doors. Get a degree in something you can reliably earn a living with, but keep with the photography as you can.

d0nutd0n wrote in post #6314377
Hi, I'm currently 18 and shot a decent amount of local gigs for hotels, hair salons, and the community in general.

That's all you need. (I think) Real-world experience trumps any education in my books. Just because you can write a test doesn't mean you can do a job.