From an Unrelated Career To IT/Programming?

An anonymous reader writes "I hate my career of the past few years. For a long time I've wondered what I'd do after I broke even and could get into something new, and I keep coming back to computers. I'd like to get into software, since I always enjoyed coding. I have some background with C++ so I'm not starting entirely from scratch. My problem is my degrees and past employment have no practical application to the field. Where should I start? I have friends in both IT and software development who might be able to pull some strings and get me an interview or two for entry-level positions, but what can I do to make myself hireable in a short period of time? Is it possible to pick up enough of what I'd need within a couple months? If so, what and how?"

Comments

Move to India

[Marxist Hacker 42]

That's where you should start. Move to India. The only places that are hiring no experience are places like Infosys and Tata Consulting. They're more likely to hire you as a Project Manager than a coder though, if you're American.
 
NOBODY wants American coders. Analysts yes. Project managers yes. Coders, no.

We don't want you

[eples]

For the love of god, stay the hell away.

Or at least, stay the hell away from me

I spend close to 20% of each day educating people who should effing know better. Don't be that person. You make my job tiresome.