I learned some C in a "101" class my first year of uni. After applying the concepts to some fun arduino projects, I responded to a craigslist post and ended up

I learned some C in a "101" class my first year of uni. After applying the concepts to some fun arduino projects, I responded to a craigslist post and ended up putting a few weeks free time (95% reading&learning) into an arduino device for a hobbyist. He paid me $200 + materials which was probably $3/hr but gained a lot of experience and confidence in self-teaching and project management. After this I did some small game and simulation related projects for myself to learn object-oriented concepts. Then recently I responded to an online posting for a software intern and showed them code I had written, + things I had built. They hired me and now I'm getting quality industry experience, albeit with an old technology stack. I think that a great way for people to break into the industry is to do jobs for those who have even less software experience than themselves! These people may not pay much but they have lower expectations and will give you time to learn.