I’ve been doing software for about 15 years now. Right now I do high end Javascript and web 2.0 applications for a start up in Israel.
There are a number of good books on picking a career you can find at your local Barns and Noble or the like. It will of course take some work and training to get there. Any decent job is going to take real skills and real work. It will also take a few years of working up the ladder.
There are opportunities out there, but they the come dressed in Overalls and require real work to take advantage of.
In terms of degree I have a BA in Physics from Brandeis.