Sometimes people do get way too deep in something that in the abstract sounds like a good new direction for their life, but it really isn't, and then they're stuck. I remember in another forum I read years ago, an IT guy who decided to become a nurse. He had a very difficult time finding employment, and ended up working in a prison, which was extremely difficult and demoralizing.

The question is, what do you really want? I realized, after a long time, that what I really want and am willing to sacrifice other things for, is to work directly with the person that ultimately gets value from my work product. Which is not how things work for developers and programmers in most places.