I’ve been a MCSE since 99 and have way too many certs. I would focus on one of three technologies, MS, cisco or vmware. Vmware is a bit more advanced and does require a well rounded understanding of ms, network and some unix.
I know a lot of high schools offer tech training and quite a few state colleges have cheap classes as well.
One of the best places to apply at bigger companies is their help desk. They usually have a high turnover rate because any good company will train them up and promote from within. I routinely hire from our help desk.
Ditto that. Every single place that I've worked uses the help desk as the farm team for more senior IT positions. With maybe "Interns" as a developmental-type league.
And, thinking about it, the only IT guy that I can think of who *didn't* start on the help desk, is me. My first employer was pretty desperate (they must have been, to hire me) and tossed me into the deep end of the pool to start with. Almost 20 years later, I guess I did OK. Things were a little different then, though...computer knowledge was still next to witchcraft in a lot of people's eyes. Not anymore.