I thought all hackers were assholes until..

Hi, Troy the newbie here. Once upon a time I use to think that the word "hacker" was used to describe a very sick and demented individual who had nothing better to do but ***** up and cause havoc to another persons PC just for the hell of it. In my ignorance, I failed to notice that not all hackers sink to this level.I call them wanna be's(Im sure there is a name to describe them)...dickheads trying to impress their mates or get revenge on an ex...these people did not impress me and as far as Im concerned, give the REAL hackers a bad name!...on the other hand, there are those who can sneak into government and military departments through cyberspace and discover secrets they didnt want us to know about without revealing their presence. Now this type of hacker gets my respect handsdown! Its like comparing a nickel and dime crim with james bond..one has class and standards...the other has no idea and nine times out of ten gets caught! So what I want to know is...where does a newbie like me start? I dont expect to be handed it on a plate,no,...too easy and I dont think I will learn that way.Im not interested in learning for ulterior motives...just a better understanding.Cheers, peace out.