[lizardking]

If you are genuinely committed to landing a job in Silicon Valley, you may need to start somewhere else and truly exceed expectations. Would working for a tech company in the midwest be better or worse than your current situation? If it would be better then why not try that first?

From there I would suggest the following:

  - If your craft isn't already your main hobby, turn it into your main hobby.

  - Network as much as you can. Meetup.com is very useful for this purpose.

  - Use your network to find a mentor. Someone knowledgeable who has achieved what you're aiming for and is willing to help you.

Many people in tech do the bare minimum and still manage to build impressive careers. If you excel at your job, are passionate about your craft, and can construct a compelling narrative to market yourself to employers, you'll be ahead of most of the competition. Most of the competition never makes it to sv, but if you are ahead of them then you're moving in the right direction.

And so what if you fall short and end up in Cincinnati, able to afford a comfortable life? Would that really be so bad?