A lot of eLearning pros I know "fell into" this field and I was no exception. I was working for a textbook publishing company when the eRevolution swept through the higher education sector. I think it caught everyone by surprise. Luckily (in hindsight) I was dabbling in web design and showed a keen interest in everything online, so I was handed the "new media" portfolio. Soon enough my title evolved into eLearning Product Manager.
My hot tip for becoming an eLearning pro is to get your hands dirty. Tinker with authoring tools, play with multimedia, and participate on social platforms. Experiment with all the software you can get your hands on, to find out what it can and cannot do. Familiarize yourself with its nuances, and critically reflect on how you might use it for learning purposes.
Plenty of people talk about using edtech, but relatively few ever do it. So create an online course. Record a podcast. Upload a video on YouTube. Build a game. Produce an infographic. Make an app. Write a blog. Publish an e-book. And show them off in your e-portfolio.
Prove you can do it because you have already done it. You will be light years ahead of everyone else!