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Well it depends on your skill set. I took a demotion at work to actual create and write code again. Taught myself UML, C#, T-SQL. I begged to get on this new project at work. 3 years later, I am seasoned and know my stuff and very marketable. My goal in mid 40’s is MY OWN business, I have a consulting biz on the side and just signed my first 100 hour contract at 100 per hour. I also have gotten damn good at Internet Marketing and SEO and make about $1200 a month in passive income from about 12 websites which I run. The future is not about punching a clock but maybe having 2-3 par-time well paying gigs which can put food on the table. I give myself 24 months and I am cutting the cord forever.

Our company has a policy in which we don't hire recent college grads and that means basically if you are less than 4 years out of school, don't bother. For every Jeff Zuckerberg you have 10,000 cubicle jockeys who simply want to get to 5pm and start their alcohol fueled rutting rituals. I think we are like that John Grisham novel The Firm now, you have to be married, stable and not wear a faux hawk or have multiple visible tatoos.

Well it depends on your skill set.

Remember, I was talking about the dot-com bubble about ten years ago. And trust me, it did not matter WHAT skills you had, if you didn't have a sheepskin or you weren't the ONLY person to know how to run your program/computer/network, you were pretty much pushed out the door. Most of the people on here who were in the computer industry during that time will tell you the same. Back then, GTE/Verizon laid off 350 people in one week and then EXACTLY two weeks later they sponsored 400 work visas for the same jobs!

I understand your plight (good luck on your plan), I taught myself Visual Basic, C, C++, C#, UNIX/LINUX, etc... but because I didn't have a degree, I was over the cost allotment for employees without a degree. Bottom line, it was cheaper to hire a newly minted, college graduate than to keep me and pay for my seniority.

I still do programming/networking on the side and I make descent profit from those side jobs. I also use those skills to help in my current career. I have created many programs, databases and interfaces that allow me and my company to track various aspects across our entire national footprint. Simple programs and interfaces, but there were no COTS solutions available.