I'd strongly recommend to find an open-source project next to one of your leisure occupations.
First, open-source because the support is mostly very friendly, then open-source because other contributors will have at least one comparable hobby, and then favorite pastime occupation so you can see a need for tools etc.
Two projects I have been playing around with very successfully:
- Music: Rockbox, a firmware replacement for many mp3-players and portable media players.
- Photography: CHDK, a firmware addition to numerous Canon compact still cameras.
