There is work out there and given half a chance and a lot of effort, you will succeed. It's not all doom and gloom.
I've just secured 2 good bathroom contracts and some maintenance work today. That is because as well as being a plumber, I know how to sell and market my products and services as well as having a first class reputation. By the way it's easier to get a bad reputation than a good one so keep this in mind too!
You'll find that you not only have to be a plumber, but negotiator, salesman, customer service and nowadays be good at a whole host of other trades like tiling and joinery if you want to succeed. As there are so many plumbers chasing fewer jobs, you have to show your customers why and how you are better than the rest and price is not always the main factor in this.
My advice to anyone starting out in this industry is if you want to succeed, instead of spending your money on additional industry courses, spend it on a really good marketing course as this will be money well spent and show you how to bring in profitable work. Other courses can be applied later.
All good tech colleges offer marketing, either as a full time course or part time and some even in the evenings, and they don't cost that much especially compared to the return that they offer.