Howdy,
You sound a lot like me when I was your age... haha makes me sound old. I'm 25 and I can certainly understand where you're coming from. In fact I had almost identical stats.
My suggestion: The Internet is a very useful tool for making money. Information is valuable. You said you have a very specific niche related knowledge base... you should begin marketing online with that.
You can start by doing some affiliate marketing for programs that have established info products and work your way up from there.
Its much less risky than the stock market and you'll have the potential to earn as much as you want.
I've posted a few times about it at my blog:
MarketingOrange.com
Dustin