Some programs that could start you on a career take only 1 or 2 years. They might not be glamorous jobs, but a lot of things become interesting only after you get involved doing them.

If a stranger told you the things you are telling yourself, I would think they were mean and feeding you a pack of lies. It's not inevitable that you couldn't get somewhere. It will be if you accept that as truth. But it is not.

Did you have some dream of doing something that really would take a long process of advanced education?

If your dream was to be a big deal movie star, that might be unrealistic. It might be kind late to learn dramatic arts. If your dream was to be a concert pianist, that might be unrealistic. Some things take very early training. It probably is too late to aim at being an Olympic champion marathon runner.

Lots of other things really are attainable. You wouldn't be starting completely from scratch. Just the way that you write shows you have a very good basic education. There are plenty of college students who can't even put a sentence together as well as you do. If you started an academic program next fall, you would move along much easier that they can. You might be 2 or 3 years behind them in earning credits for courses, but you are already beyond a lot of them in your level of literacy. Five years from now, you might out-compete them in the job market. It can't be more than 3 years since you left secondary school. I think even Prince William took a year of traveling before he went to University. You are not seriously behind your age peers in any way, except in the area of gaining confidence. That confidence will come, if - and only if - you go try learning something and find that you can. And you will find that you can. I'll bet you did quite well in school when you attended.