[zackattack]

The answer is persistence. Check Craigslist/eng/ in all major metro areas - chicago, nyc, sfbay, austin, lax, wdc. Email promising job ads daily. Post your resume on craigslist, especially in SFbay, weekly, and alternate with other metro areas. I would be shocked if you did not get at least a few promising leads after a few weeks of hitting up the craigslist rotation.

in the meantime, code up something cool, and post it on HN. Then in your signature or whatever, mention that you're looking for work.

[Cyranix]

I was in a similar situation just two years ago -- newly minted college graduate, didn't have a CS or related degree, trying to find work based on a couple of programming classes I took and a meager handful of outside projects. I used Monster, recruiting firms, and Craigslist to get work; surprisingly, the two jobs I've landed in Austin were both the result of Craigslist posts, and I couldn't be happier with my current position.

Just keep at looking for open doors, and work on independent projects when you're not actively engaged in job hunting. In my personal experience, the projects don't need to be exceptionally unique and amazing -- find something that's a manageable size, and prove that you have the chops to see something through to completion with solid code.