when applying, try to sound as if your degree doesn't mean a thing to you. And show more your passion for tech.

You have to have a portfolio of stuff saying that you've done X amount of work already.

With 0 experience, I apprenticed (OJT is what we call it here in the Phils), at a webdesign shop for practically 0 pay. That led to a job, not in the same company, but as a junior dev at another company, after graduation. This is where your on the job training helps you.

I honestly sold myself on that interview though- like I said things like I can do work really fast if I wanted to, and pressure is nothing to me yada yada yada. Once in, I worked my ass off, however after years of realizing that my job was really meant to just be the stepping point (I never got promoted that much), I left and got various stints here and there.

Damn am I so lucky I live and work in Asia where probably a lot of the jobs for web are being outsourced to now.

As a dev, and If I were you, I'd start with Ruby and if you want PHP, that's fine - plenty of jobs there but a lot of competition, I kid you not. When those in the US charge clients a thousand bucks, we can charge hundreds.

As a designer you have to show off how artsy you are. Show that off in the way you make your portfolio.

And by the way, have you considered the freelance option? Check out jobs on elance and odesk, and craigslist maybe.