Any advice?
My advice - just get in IT. Don't mind starting from the bottom, in the grand scheme of things 2-3 years of reduced salary is nothing. Look for a job in the IT of your field, for example, since I had financial background it was easy for me to get a job in financial BI, but I could get a job in any financial IT system as helpdesk, PS etc. To get this job you might have to get into a course or even learn some new skills at home after work. If you want specific ideas you can write here or email me your experience.
Since I'm currently self-employed, but business is a bit slow atm, I may be in a position to do something like that. I've been building sites, scripts, mysql dbs etc on an amateur level since I was 15, so I think I could pick up this stuff quickly.
I will take you up on the offer and email (is it username @gmail?) you as I could definitely use some guidance from someone who's been there. First I'll be doing more research to get caught up so as not to waste your time. Thanks!