[takshak]

I may or may not have direct experience with this but I can comment on this part: "I would be in competition with others who've been practicing their trade for many years. It feels as if it's too late." You will be pleasantly surprised how motivated learning of one month triumphs over years of experience of people who are just getting along with the job. If you have passion for any skill then you are already ahead of most people. So " Efforts taken at this point to turn things around would be futile" is wrong unless its half-hearted effort. I don't know about going back to school but I can definitely say: Full-hearted "efforts taken at this point" not be futile "for picking up a new skill" unless the skill is physically demanding.