I don't think you're in a hole. You've got a high-paying job and four more years of experience (in a field you dislike) than all of the folks coming out of coll

I don't think you're in a hole. You've got a high-paying job and four more years of experience (in a field you dislike) than all of the folks coming out of college. The point is that if a kid coming out of college can get a job writing Python or whatever, you can too. You even get a salary while you look for the job! In a sense, whether you're in a hole is relative. Compared to [Torvalds, Gates, Jobs, name your hero], we're all in a hole.