So I finally decided what I want to do with my life...

[w_alloy]

I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life and would really appreciate some advice. I'll try not to get too emo/lifestoryish on you, nevertheless cliff notes at bottom.

I'm a really competitive and ambitious person, and the environment I grew up in told me to bury these character flaws. I've recently decided I can't turn away from who I am and that I want a comptetive and ambitious career.

I don't have a high school diploma or equivalent. I failed my AP government class second semester senior year of hs, and although I got a 5/5 on the AP test, and I had enough total credits to graduate, this was a required class for me. I had too much spite to make it up or get a GED. I then spent a lackluster non-degree seeking year at the local university (University Alaska Anchorage). I dropped out the beginning of the following year because of a complete lack of direction and motivation and a general depression, and because I was making enough off poker to easily sustain myself.

In the year and a half since I dropped out, I've played about 4 months worth of poker and had good but not great success, a bit over a quarter mil pre-tax, which I've done a decent job of not spending. Some other notes about me:

- I'm smart. I could always pass, and almost always ace, tests in college or HS without any preparation. I got a 3.5 gpa my first semester of college taking a relatively hard course load. I never bought any of the required books, never did homework that wasn’t a significant portion of our grade, and never studied (at all). I'm confident I could be successful in any field.
- My only job experience is a few summers commercial fishing (my employer commercial fished for "fun" and managed one of the biggest oil drilling sites in Alaska, and wrote me an amazing letter of recommendation)
- I don’t feel my past school history is indicative of what I will do in the future. I am motivated now, and as long as I am working to achieve goals I really want, I am a hard worker. People I know are skeptical of this, and in light of my history I don’t blame them (or you). But lets set skepticism aside and assume I can and will work my ass off.
- I don't know what I want to do. What I DO know is that I want a competitive job where I am challenged every day, making close to what I was making playing poker, but I don’t want to work ibanking or big law hours (I know some people are probably rolling their eyes at this, keep in mind this is just what I view as ideal). I have very general interests and talents and am open to suggestions, but was thinking maybe trading or high level aeronautical engineering. I dont really know much about entry level trading though, except that it's hard to break into?

Cliff notes: I'm 21 with a sparse job history and no real documented education and want a competitve career. Assume I am smart and a hard worker.

Here are my questions (finally!):

1. Is there any possible way I could get a good job without going back to school? (unlikely, but I have to ask)
2. Is there any way I could get into a good undergrad program (maybe after a year at another school)?
3. Is there any way I could be hired by a trading or investment banking firm in the next 4 years?
4. How hard is it to get into a good graduate school with a state school undergrad degree?
5. What would you do (with my goals) in my shoes?