17 on 60k a year? Man, I would have -killed- for that when I was your age... 6 years ago... When I was 17, I started my Apprenticeship on $6.20 an hour and we weren't allowed overtime. I lived through it, man. Now I've got a fiance, live with her in our own unit, have an RMZ250, R33 GTS-T, two trades... Used to have an SS Commodore (But it, uh... Stopped working all of a sudden... I found a piston on the other side of the road though)... I'm not boasting what I have but I'm just trying to tell you... Get an apprenticeship, work your ass off, bide your time and in the end it all pays itself off with interest.
I work in town at the moment, but I'm heading back out west 'Over the Hill'. Town pays well for Tradesman. It's worth looking into.