I became interested in Bitcoin because of the hardware mining aspect. It was very fun building and configuring mining rigs. With the advent of ASICs I feel kind of lost and I have no interest in tinkering with scrypt coins. I have some C++ training from college but other than that I'm really a hardware junkie. Where do I fit in here other than buying and running mining equipment?
It's a very young field. Look for a niche and try to fit into it. Target those areas where there are greatest frictions for new or existing users and make life easier for them.
Grow your own business with a bitcoin or blockchain backing.