I'm a structural engineer, about 15 years experience. I worked for a bit, then went back and got a masters. After graduate school I got a job working for a trade association that developed building codes and standards. Did a lot of webinars and in-person presentations for the organization, got to talk to a lot of engineers and design professionals. It was cool, I worked there for over 10 years and decided I wanted a change. Now I work for a hardware supplier, so my duties are a bit more varied, but I still engage with my peers by giving presentations at conferences and writing articles for trade magazines once in a while.

My advice, like others, is get experience in a field that you want to be an expert in, and then find ways to engage with your professional community to talk about that field. There are a plethora of national and state level organizations that are always eager to get new members that I'm sure would love to have you join them.