When I was 31 years old and laid off for 6 months, I decided to take matters in my own hands, learn ObjC and start programming. I started selling products two months later through the iOS app store. Now I make enough to pay my bills, my customers are happy (Note: I don't do contact work), and my revenue is increasing.
Advice: Just because you're not a "rockstar" or haven't been doing it since you were twelve doesn't mean you can't compete.
Without getting into any specifics, I am one of the many, many crumb-snatching, niche-players in the App store. All I can say is, thank God the high selling apps in the marketplace get so much attention because if developers just did a bit of research and built products focused on traditional market segmentation (and combined that with good seasonal macroeconomic policies) then I would have ALOT more competition where I am.
Advice: Just because you're not a "rockstar" or haven't been doing it since you were twelve doesn't mean you can't compete.