with all being said above, If I got to do it over, I would be an underwater welder. Join the navy, get underwater training, then learn the underwater welding trade. You learn that, the world is your oyster!!
Man, talk about a niche for yourself. My neighbor was talking about a friend of his just the other day who does this and as you said "the world is his oyster.)
OP, it kind of goes like this. Whatever you end up doing, try to do your best and take each and every part of your task as a life challenge and everything will work out great. By nature I am what you would call a Creator. Well, alot of what I do in my job outside of Maintenance is take a project and make it a manufacturing process which requires a bunch of open mind processing and thinking outside the box. When I am in the zone it is literally a rush. And yet a creator is considered artsy fartsy per say.
You have heard lots of guys chime in and they are all great responses. Something else to keep in mind is having a great career allows you flexibility in life and disposable income to play in the car hobby world. You really need to do a gut check and see what interest you and have a natural talent for all at the same time. The one thing I can tell you that I see everyday is your generation typically wants to sit in front of a computer so if you like using your hands I hope you stick with that interest and do the world some good.....
Lastly, your potential to accelerate in a career has alot to do with confidence. Some may snarl at that but having trained and worked with so many people they all have been so unique it's the ones with confidence in their ability that helped them stand above the rest. If you lack some of that take up Marital Arts and it will build that up. As I always say know your target and hit your mark......