Get your resume spruced up. If you don't have actual work experience, create a list of personal projects and describe how you made them. Put as much informatio

Get your resume spruced up. If you don't have actual work experience, create a list of personal projects and describe how you made them. Put as much information on major job sites like Monster, SimplyHired, Indeed, Dice,etc.. It's boring and if you don't have much to list, disheartening, but likely you'll get some recruiters calling you to try to fit you into whatever job de jour they have cooking that day. At least having someone calling though with minor interest helps boost confidence. Apply to small local companies, don't bother with huge organizations(e.g. power companies, healthcare). If there is a long drawn out application process on their website, avoid it. Ensure you include a cover letter and customize it to include something about the company, and why you'd be excited to work for them(e.g. you like their product, and can see how it could make a difference in the world). Get your GED. I think you're giving a poor excuse for why you don't have it. There are tons of places to take the GED test. Get it at least scheduled and go. Even if you don't want to go through the typical education process, jobs won't just land in your lap. You're likely going to have to work just as hard(or harder) driving yourself towards personal improvement, as you would going through college. It's also extremely easy to become apathetic and let your life slip away when your goals are ambiguous. You need to become a specialist. A ton of people in my area are looking for AngularJS programmers. This is probably one of the top requested things recruiters were asking for. To really become a specialist though, you'd probably need at least a few months dedicated to making serious applications with AngularJS. The market could also fall out from under you as well, and suddenly your specialist skill isn't what people need anymore. If you really need money, look for extremely low end jobs that have nothing to do with programming/tech and try to expand your role as the "tech guy" once you get there. Even putting something on your resume like "assisted co-workers with technical problems" and a few stories involving your problem solving skills in the work environment may get you noticed. Go to user groups or tech meets in the area. Try to find out what people are working on, and make them aware you're available. Maybe you can pick up odd jobs. Ultimately, if you really cannot find work and you are passionate about programming, swallow your pride, get loans and go to school(community college, then university). Even if you end up with 50 - 60K debt, you WILL be able to pay it off with a professional software developer salary. It's probably one of the most worthwhile investments you could make in yourself. Just make sure you network while in school, look for internships, apply for campus tech jobs, and develop a hearty list of personal and school projects.