Welcome to the Forum Tigger!
I had that very same dream. It took some years and some pretty serious committment to attain it.
Having been the welding instructor for United Airlines, I can tell you that most of the big aerospace players are not going to consider you until you have a minimum of 5 years experience with the processes they are using. They will consider people without Titanium/exotics experience if they do have years of stainless.
It took an enlistment in the Navy for me to get the aerospace welding experience I needed to persue my dream.
Your dream is a good one. The plumb Union, high salary/benefit aerospace jobs are tighter now that in the past. Some of this is due to the cylical nature to aerospace employment and a bigger part is due to the big players doing more and more repair work through outside vendors both in the U.S. and abroad.
Still plenty of aerospace work being done.. Especially through the Department of Defense.. Both military and civillian.
Edit: There are plenty of companies willing to hire aspiring young people... Most of them are sweatshops.. I spent my share of time in those as well. Great places for young people to pick up valuable skills.
When your skills become high level you can demand high level pay... Skills can never be taken away.. Unions cannot bargain them away... For now... Work hard and learn.