Fight your way out; only scrubs and mashers jump out of the corner
Check your area for vocational or computer schools that offer programs in software testing. A lot of them exist and have services to help you get a job after you finish your classes.
There are also plenty of books and online resources available, you might take a look at the QA Stack Exchange for more in depth recommendations on where to find resources, what to study, and how to approach certain testing problems.
As a former software tester ( I'm a software engineer now ), I can't stress enough the importance of organization and strong communication skills. You'll need to be able to work fairly autonomously, so organizing your tasks and managing your time are paramount. Communication skills are key, as you'll be spending a lot of time describing abnormal behavior, the state the environment is in, steps to reproduce, and possibly your analysis of the nature of the bug ( if you're really familiar with the system, you may be able to provide insight on where the bug exists in the code )
A knowledge of programming languages and how they work is definitely a plus. From a conversation I had with Jon at Bungie a few months ago ( fund raiser event ), they really value testers who are able to understand the code and its implications. If you can see weak areas to test against, or think of conditions to try from reading code, all the better. Plus it often helps to be able to automate or script certain tasks; from fully automated regression test suites to simple cleanup or deployment scripts.
You'll also want to get in the habit of detaching yourself from things a bit; it's really helpful when you're able to frame a defect from the point of view of a third party. Testers and developers can get REALLY close to a project, making it difficult to see or appreciate defects. Having strong skills at looking at a defect objectively will help prevent this.
Finally, borrowing from one of the more recent Breaking In articles ( I forget which one and will try to add it later ) - start thinking critically about the games you play and applications you use. Find defects and report them ( many companies have ways for receiving bug reports ). Do your best to stay on top of them and help them come to a resolution, and document the correspondence. Start acting and thinking like a tester :)
[Edited on 06.19.2012 4:02 PM PDT]