This is probably unhelpful but you should consider just being a consultant for hire. I think your abilities will speak for themselves and your reputation will s

This is probably unhelpful but you should consider just being a consultant for hire. I think your abilities will speak for themselves and your reputation will speak much louder than your lack of official training. I doubt you'd even need to disclose your criminal history for most clients. Also you may find it better to network with hiring managers vs filling out online job applications. The HR screening is going to bury you many times where a human could help you side step it.