I'm worried about the necessity of having a 'network' and needing networking abilities to succeed. I have no network. My family members are split between blue collar laborers and stuck-in-mid-management bums. I have no connection the professional world, and even worse is that I don't want to be connected.

Ehhh. I don't want to be a professional anyway. It's a great path to an unhappy life, at least for me.