There are probably many routes into the industry but the competition for the available places gets more difficult every year. Look into the following options:
1. Have a look around the games developers sites and see what jobs are on offer - it will give you a good idea of what they are looking for and you may get a junior position which can get your foot in the door.
2. Get some qualifications.
3. Try modifying an exisiting game. A lot of new PC games come with toolkits that allow you to heavily modifiy the games so put some time and effort into making something really good and you may catch someone's eye. Remember: some of the people that modified Half Life to make Counter-Strike now work for Half Life's developers.
4. Get involved in the online commmunity for games deveeloper and wannabes. You should be able to pick up tips and tricks and get your name out there.
With the application of skill and a bit of luck who knows?
