I finally got into a proper career path in my 30s, and it wasn't because of my degree or my skills.

It was because I had an old friend working for that city that told them to pull my resume from the stack for a low-level position that I was way overqualified for. That got me an interview. That got me the job. I kicked ass once given an opportunity which lead to my promotion within 6 months. I quickly became known in the area and was poached by another city a little over a year after that.

Getting my resume pulled by a friend lead me to more than tripling my income within 2 years. I still don't make amazing money, but I no longer have to worry if I'll be able to pay the bills.