These are some pretty good points. I got lucky in a few ways, but i'll tell my story. I was a journalist for five years, but had always written code for fun. I

These are some pretty good points. I got lucky in a few ways, but i'll tell my story. I was a journalist for five years, but had always written code for fun. I ended up becoming friends with a former programmer for a large software company who had recently started his own consulting shop. I showed promise as a developer, plus I had other skills that they could use. It was only a 3 person shop at that point, but they were able to find several smaller contracts that I could take on, while also having me help on larger contracts in Rails. I kept at it (and have been at it for about 18 months now). I feel like i'm just now coming into my own, so to speak. i know a popular framework relatively well at this point, and while I don't know all the nuances of several basic web technolgoies yet, I'm still studying them (also, you never stop learning even if you're an expert). the bottom line is that I found a place that would nurture me as a developer because I had promise (probably like you, if you do it for fun), and I had other skills that they could simultaneously use. By putting my understanding of journalism/communication/marketing to use, I was able to bring in some really nice contracts, and now I'm working on a popular social networking application in Django. So, I guess what I'd say to OP is to find all your strong points, find places that those skills are also relevant at, and "dual-class" so to speak (if we're going the RPG route here). This way you are leveraging your abilities three different ways: past experience, future promise, and current strengths. oh: and one thing i forgot to mention. HANG OUT IN IRC, a lot. The people there are incredibly knowledgeable and can often help out or give you advice really quickly i dont even know if all that made sense. but hopefully it helps some