I should have been more specific with the word pro. I should have used contract, meaning bidding on projects. All within that type casting weren't field, meaning on the spot. There was an awful lot of lab and paper writing and even more specialization behind the actual field work and some of the work needed to be sent else wheres for even more specific. For an example flotation analysis. I didn't get into that aspect of it till much later, the actual interpretation of the project. At that point to move above would have been very hard, for me, with out the degree. Even at that point I couldn't actually sign my name to it, but that was still ok by me.
About the best advice I can give you would be get your hands dirty. But not knowing your time or monetary element I can't be a lot more specific. No money and have time, look for an active group in your area. Have money and time, field school or see what your school is up to. The more you get into it, the more you will see what really interests you. I was lithics, prehistoric, get me on an historical site and I wasn't real happy, which is a lie, but my heart was elsewhere.
And no I didn't really do it for the money. I was always amazed they actually gave me money to do what I would have done for free.
As an aside and I hope you take this in the manner I really mean it GreatCeleryStalk. You have your PHD at your age, what did they do hold you back in school a year?