And why not join your local camera club if you have one, most clubs run competitions for both Beginners and Advanced, (Kingston do Print, Slide and Projected Digital Image comps) whilst there is no monetary prize to be gained the pride in achieving a good mark for your photograph from an external judge is immense, a good judge also critiques shots in a constructive way, so why not look into that.
I have come third overall in the Kingston Camera Club Intermediate class and it has given me a real personal boost...who knows maybe I will go for my LRPS now...Unless you're a pro take photos because you want to, not for what you can gain from them, that is not to say don't enter comps, but as already advised be very very wary of rights issues etc, a good one to enter is the Amateur Photographer of the Year Competition but you've missed the start of that...But good luck whatever you decide to do.