well I dunno about in the states, Up here in Canada we passed a by-law for company's to Hire disabled people, hmmm I think there are a few places up here looking for English teachers, art teachers, and if you Upgrade your IT credentials there's jobs in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.

I'm not trying to be a downer but maybe a change in scenery would help you in the long run.

go back to college. yeah, yeah...go back to college and find classes that'll get to skills you can sell, not this whiney-ass diploma for it's own sake crap. think the diploma's in the way? drop it of the resume and mention the certification in XXXX instead.

check the papers for what jobs they ARE hiring for and see what the ones you might be able to do take for education. ALTERNATIVE: become Hertzfeldt.

Well, I guess it sort of depends on how much you can actually do. Are your hands totally shot, or is there still things you can do with them? I have a phone job that pays fairly decent.

And if anything, don't go to college- WORK for the college.

There are a lot of articles and such circulating lately that are questioning the value of an education. But most of them forget to mention that unemployment for those with college degrees is at only %4, while for those without one it is currently closer to something like %13. Just saying.

That said, yeah, it's scary as hell out there lately. Many a guy and gal who did everything right in life, got multiple degrees, and had successful careers are in pretty much the same place you are right now and wondering what the hell they are gonna do. It doesn't help that anyone over 45 is dead to employers for low end jobs either, right at a time when more people work past retirement age than ever before.

But let's look at the bright side - you could have done all those right things, and it might not have made any difference with things as they are lately. Sucks for those people who did do all the right things and had early success and are now fucked, but it's kind of an opportunity for you, who didn't. You can start out at the same point without thinking about lost time so much. The playing field is suddenly equalized.

Quit with all the ex this and ex that stuff though. You said yourself it was a waste of time. So pursuing it any further is just a sign of weakness, plain and simple. The acceptance or rejection towards you of this one person in the whole wide world never reflected on your manhood or whatever until you started telling yourself it did anyway. Time to move on.

It's not too late to navigate the computer stuff into a career. The generation coming up may be able to text each other at the speed of thought, but many of them have never seen a command line before and don't really understand what is happening when they move files around etc. on a computer. You understand the underlying concepts, and that can make a difference in certain fields. Just keep an open mind and make yourself useful wherever you go.

Hell, in some places you can ask the help desk for a cat5 cable, and they will ask what you are talking about. Some of them don't know what a RAR file is either. But they got experience working at certain places and just did good work and developed a resume. It's not about being super knowledgeable all the time.

And like OrinJ said, lots of employers love those certifications. A little too much if you ask me, but they don't understand technical stuff themselves, so the certs make them feel safe about hiring somebody. It's a little silly, but it's true.

I think looking into something like AmeriCorps would be good. They give you money to live on and you'll be more desirable for a job. Also things like that give you an amazing sense of self worth, especially after you've helped other people. I have a few friends in it and I'm going to join also. I'm pretty sure sure you can choose your location and the kind of work you'll be doing if your hand is injured.

Nori is on the right track. See if a local college is hiring in the library department. I recommend the AV or Reference.

Most colleges let you have up to 2 or 3 classes a semester for free if you work for them (check with the college).