First of all, you didn't _waste_ four years. You learned a ton of things in that time, and while you may not have enjoyed it, the knowledge and skills gained ar

First of all, you didn't _waste_ four years. You learned a ton of things in that time, and while you may not have enjoyed it, the knowledge and skills gained are now a part of your being. You never know where things that you learned will come in handy down the road. Without spending that time and learning to focus and push through, you would not have been able to bust out five projects since January at that level of quality. To speak apocryphally, Steve Jobs did not become a professional calligrapher, but taking calligraphy classes in college affected the focus on typography when he was working on the Mac, so it was not wasted time. People become programmers with degrees in philosophy, english literature, french, physics, and any number of other subjects. Yes, you may not have the theoretical backing that a computer science degree holder does, but for 99% of the programming jobs out there, you do not need it, so in practical terms as long as you have passion for learning, it's not a great obstacle. As far as practical steps - well, if you are just worried about paying bills and getting more experience, start doing contract work. You may not get hired by a company, but you obviously already know enough to be able to bust out simple sites very quickly - and there's always simple work to be found for small businesses, because most people skilled enough to do the work, prefer to work for a steady paycheck, and people who are skilled enough and don't want a company job, usually charge prices that small businesses cannot afford. So there's a nice little niche for students/upcoming developers that they can fit into for the first year or two. Once you build up a resume of good work and a few references, you can start looking for full-time work, or start charging incrementally more and putting money aside so you can afford to take a couple months off from contract work and focus on monetizing your own projects. I'd also suggest moving to San Francisco for a year or so - the market and the pay is better here than almost anywhere else in the country, and being a fresh graduate with few obligations, you're at a unique moment of freedom of movement in your life.