I was 30+ too when I moved from Mechanical Engineering (with MSc Mech Eng) to Software Development (MSc Info Sys). I'm from the Middle East. By the end of my M

I was 30+ too when I moved from Mechanical Engineering (with MSc Mech Eng) to Software Development (MSc Info Sys). I'm from the Middle East. By the end of my MSc study in US, It was extremely difficult for me to get an internship. My professor was inclined to try to push me further into looking for opportunities but it was dry (a recession). Internships give you, as others mentioned, a foot in the door - but also launches your career at the 'level' that would potentially mean a certain level of income in X years. And not to mention the mentorship you will get. What I did was, through my local contacts, get a a semi-paid gig for building an e-commerce/catalogue for a vendor. I took that opportunity to learn, on my own, as much as I can. I networked heavily. I went to all tech events I could. I built it in Java/Struts-1/MySQL (the stack of the day) in 3 months. I then moved back to my country (maintaining my launch app for 2 years). I had a job opportunity waiting. I never said no to work, network opportunities or pet projects. Anything that I came across I'd try to learn/build. I was married with 1 kid (with a very supportive wife). Forward 15 years - I'm a Canadian software consultant. Reasonable pay. Lots of challenges especially with the economy. Success? Perhaps. Email in my profile if you want to discuss further.