22 and no life

You might try thinking out -- and writing down -- specifically what sort of circumstances you think would help you to feel "ok." An apartment? A steady, stable job? A car? A group of reliable friends? You don't need a perfect answer, just try to flesh out some basic details.

Once you know where you want to be in life, you can start taking determined action to change your current circumstances. Where do you want to be ten years from today? Five years? Try to answer those questions, then work back to today, determining the requirements at each step.

So, if you have as your goal getting a job at $50k per year working as a web developer at a small to medium sized company, starting x years from today, then your requirements might be:

Living in a city with sufficient job opportunities in the IT industry; specific programming skills; interpersonal skills for working in an office environment; personal and professional references; a resume; some relevant work experience; basic interviewing skills; a permanent address; reliable transportation; food in your stomach; some reasonable clothes; and a few friends and a healthy way to relax during your downtime.

Take each of those criteria, compare to where you are now, figure out specifically what you can do to improve your circumstances, and take action!

Having it all written out can work wonders for your motivation and ability to stay on track. You can also include some goalposts in your plan with specific timeframes so that you can periodically remind yourself that you're making progress -- that can really help you make it through when things get difficult, which they sometimes will.

It sounds like right now you need to get traction and put some money in your pocket, and some more in the bank. That means you'll want to get your expenses down as low as possible and save as much of your income as you can. You may have to work some unpleasant jobs to get yourself started, but remember that they're not permanent, and stay focused on your goals.

I hope this was of some use for you. Good luck!

Summer is rolling around so make sure to be there before all the southern guys come back up after leaving for the winter. I plan on looking for a oil field job soon. After years in college, grad school, working at a corp job doing ASICs/FPGAs paying less than 70k, I hear its pretty easy to make +100k in the oil fields. Just make sure you are "mobile". I won't be slack work but you will be able to bank enough money to go to school. I hear of plenty of college age kids working the summer in the fields and end up staying in the fields( not going back to college). If I where you, plan on working a year or two, saving up a "pile of money", and then working on some degree. Remember, you will be a old man in tech by the time you get your degree and what will reduce your chances for employment. Tech is a wicked mistress!

.... If not, look at Udacity and the other MOOCs.

If you're studying computer science or a related field, your ROI is going to be just fine at a state university.