Unfortunately despite being in a big city, it's one of the worst big cities for tech jobs in the country (hence low salary). And moving isn't an option for another 4 years. I apply mostly to remote jobs because of this and I am sure those are more competitive.

Do you have any examples of other tools that would be valuable? I honestly think I'd be pretty unhappy with iOS/Android development due to the nature of most companies that focus in that area, and I assume that'd probably be an option you'd recommend. I have an interest in security and penetration testing, but it's such a horrendously complicated and difficult expertise to attain and I have no realistic expectations I would ever get a good job doing that.

Working with C/C++ or other less-web focused technology is an option obviously, but agains no CS background and it just seems like such an uphill battle to learn what I need and then convince someone to hire me for it.