Studying for the business - looking for helpful advice

Hi,
I'm just gonna ramble on here a bit - hope this can be on open discussion, because I'm gonna have a lot of questions...
Anywhoo, I'm already familiar with CreativeCow but my mass comm professor recommended I head here to get some advice about the field, as well as what it takes.
Obviously, from what it sounds, this isn't a hobby...it becomes your life. That I can live with. For me, the best feeling in the world is finishing your product and sitting back to see it play out EXACTLY as you had envisioned it in your head. I've already done a few productions - mostly for fun, but some for actual companies in my town. Regardless I enjoy the colaboration and opportunites presented in my work thus far. The real world sounds extremely different though.
I guess I can basically narrow this down to what's the first step I need to take after college? Or even during college? I was hoping to get a part-time job somewhere relative to my field during my freshman year, and that might be possible given people my prof. knows. I know you can't teach the life experience of the professional in college - most of what you do learn isnt even in school?
Hope I'm not being too general. To help narrow it down I'm hoping to go into the post-production, editing field (currently studying).
Thanks,
Hunta