Question for all the sound engineers out there: how did you get into sound engineering and how did you find more opportunities to use/develop your skills once you'd learned the basics?

I sound engineer for my local ceilidh series (different scratch band every time, so good for learning about different instruments) and I do sound from stage for my own ceilidh band, and I am looking for suggestions of how I could find more opportunities to do sound for other people to increase my experience. I'm trying to find something that's a step in between just doing the things I do now for people I know and being skilled enough/having had enough practise to be able to approach and offer to engineer for people I don't know, if that makes sense. Seeing as I'm more familiar with acoustic instruments and music I think I'd like to be more of an acoustic music specialist (but maybe learn about other types of music too just so I know how it works), the folk world seems to appreciate people who know that you don't have to feel the bass in your chest at a folk gig :-).

I'd also like to try recording, but I'm right at the start of that project so that's a different matter (have just bought some software for use on home computer, next step is to learn how it works!), but if anyone also has any words of wisdom to offer about how to learn recording please feel free to add them.

Ideas anyone? Thanks!