Justin Horne,
Mammuthus hit it one the head. Grant money is hard to come by. On average, only about 20% of grant sumissions are approved. However, your first grant application will probably be accepted (first time researchers are kept separate from other applicants), but if subsequent grants don't make the cut you are fighting an uphill battle.
I have a BA in Zoology and am a self taught protein chemist of sorts (with some biochem thrown in). I work in a research lab as a technician. IOW, I let my boss worry about funding. If you want a glamorous lifestyle and a big paycheck, go into plastic surgery or movie acting. A technician's salary is about the same as a teacher's, so nothing too exciting there. There are exceptions, but the rule of thumb is that you would make more money joining the pipefitter's union than working in the sciences. However, for science junkies we wouldn't want to be doing anything else.
My advice would be to look into molecular biology, which stresses genetic manipulation of organisms and DNA technologies. This field is just booming, both in academia and within the industries. As far as the basic sciences, this is the one I would lean towards. With a molecular biology PhD (and sometiems Masters) you can work in forensics, industrial labs, research labs, food science labs, epidemiology, and the list goes on. We are slowly moving from the Industrial Age to the DNA Age, and I think this is where the jobs are at the moment. The best part is that if you are accepted to a grad school your tuition is paid for and you also get a stipend (otherwise known as slave wages). However, if you play your cards right, grad school won't cost you a dime, just four years of your life.
Hope this helps. Feel free to ask about any specifics.