Dear Jeff,  

If you are considering service to the Church as a layman and want to pursue theological studies, you should first of all make sure that you do your studies at a Catholic college or university where the teachers have received what is called "the Mandatum" from their local bishop. So when you inquire somewhere make this one of your questions, since the "Mandatum" is the only way you have of really knowing if what they teach is true Catholic theology. Otherwise you risk buying a pig in a poke, paying for a Catholic education and getting something else.

There is also the question then of actually finding work, and as a layman who plans on getting married you will need a salary that will provide for a family. The areas that immediately come to mind are teaching religion (in schools, colleges, seminaries or special diocesan and parish programs).

God bless.