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Ask HN: How do you keep up as software developer stuck at home?

3 points by samueldavid ↗ HN
Hello, i'm a software developer that's Chronically ill which doesn't allow me to leave home for the time being(probably months or years..if ever).

I spent 2 years and 6 months working on a local company before leaving due to my health getting worse and other issues (some vital members of the team were jumping ship and i was getting overwhelmed with work), i can still code when i'm "stable" but when i get flares my productivity drops (even thou i keep trying..way slower but...),i'm inconsistent, my long absence from work (been off work since august 2016) don't inspire any trust in companies looking for a remote worker.. :( (and i don't blame them, i'm like.. a walking red flag for hiring managers)...i feel kinda depressed because i feel like i'm on this position where i cant apply locally neither can i try remote (i'm kinda burnt out of so many rejections)..

i can go out, but right now i'm only going out for doctor visits/blood tests etc, and to finish my college capstone (1 day a week).. i spend my free time doing tutorials (udemy, pluralsight etc)..but lately even that feels like wasted effort :/.

i wish i could get something going so i can work again and get some income or get a remote work of some kind in the future..but stuck on this "don't have enough experience, cant get enough experience" and my current condition of instability makes it hard..

any suggestions?

thanks,

(update) github:https://github.com/samueldaviddelacruz

linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-david-72ab9084/

don't have much on github so far, but trying to fill it in with more stuff.

7 comments

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stephenr
It sounds like you already have worked at least a little in the industry, what is your background/expertise/experience?
samueldavid
at my last job I worked as a junior Web dev(ASP.NET MVC,angular 1 ,jQuery,Oracle PL/SQL for some light DB stuff and WCF(as service layer), i also have tinkered with Nodejs on my free time and angular 2+ with Ionic framework.. so i feel kinda comfortable on C# and JS.

github:https://github.com/samueldaviddelacruz

linkedin:https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-david-72ab9084/

don't have much on github, but trying to fill it in with more stuff.

stephenr
Are you setup to issue tax invoices to clients?
whatnotests
Udemy is good. Tutorials are good.

Make sure you've got something on your github.

If you find a bug, a typo, a missing test, submit a patch if you can.

If you have an idea, open an issue for the project.

Just getting involved on a small thing here and there opens doors you may not even be aware of.

Take this time to contribute what you can.

samueldavid
yes, i'm working on my github on my free time submitting new stuff :)
corysama
If you are in a situation where you can't code, there are enough good code conference videos on YouTube to keep you busy for several lifetimes. Also, you can watch the CS classes of many top-tier universities for free. But, videos are only good for keeping you informed about new tech and techniques. Speaking as someone who watches a ton of tech vids, they are not a good way to build a working understanding of anything.

To build skills, you are going to need to code. I don't know about your particular situation, but I expect you'll need to experiment with a few different approaches before you find one that works for you. For example: you know C#. But, maybe learning Haskell would set you up to read and think a lot more than you type. Or, maybe Python would be more fun, easy and motivating even when you are feeling bad.

samueldavid
I can code at home !, But im stuck at home due to illness (unstable with not very predictable flares),i have been tinkering with other languages and frameworks (right now i want to learn golang)