[stevear]

I would consider getting a position at a very young start-up.

A small start-up would appreciate the cheap labor and the enthusiasm for the field that you bring. You will appreciate the chance to sharpen your skills and get experience in all of the tasks that come with being a part of a start-up. If you have some programming knowledge and a solid work ethic you will be a welcome member to some organization. They are taking a risk hiring someone without a deep background and you are taking a risk working for cheap with a company that may not succeed.

Second, I ran across a quote from Linus Torvalds that was along the lines of 'Do you keep track of what Windows is up to when you are working on Linux?' Linus: 'No, I simply do the best that I can.'. I think you need to keep this in mind as you self analyze.