How do I become a photographer ?

Just received the latest email in the never ending succession asking "how do I become a professional freelance photographer?" My initial advice is always the same:- Don't give up your day job!
At least not until you are earning at least twice what your day job pays from your photographs, on a constant or at least regular basis, and you can continu...e to take top quality photographs on a constant, regular, daily basis.

And in these days when anybody with a mobile phone thinks he can make a fortune selling pics from Flickr and the microstock sites, making a liviing as a photographer isn't easy.
Apart from needing at least a quality digital SLR with a couple of interchangeable lenses, so you can at least be versatile and produce varying compositions on the subjects you choose to specialise in, you need plenty of time to create, edit and upload, asndf more importantly, market your best (and only your best) pics.

two points there worth repeating : 1-specialise in a subject or a couple of subjects, and become known as an expert producing quality pics in those areas
and 2-work on ratio of about 60/40 marketting and self promotion/picture taking

And then, maybe you will begin to make inroads on the long track to becoming a successful photographer, and maybe eventually you may also become a professional.