Advice needed: what's a destitute hacker to do?
I graduated from a state university in 2009 with a degree in Computer Science. I graduated with honors and a 3.81 gpa. My gpa could've been a lot higher, but I struggled with untreated clinical-level anxiety throughout school which lead to severe procrastination or simply not turning in certain projects. I got a 1520 on my SATs, was a National Merit Scholar and an IB (International Baccalaureate) graduate. Although I never went through with applying to grad school I got a 1480 on my GREs with a perfect quant score.
Now I'm aware that being a good test-taker doesn't entitle me to anything, and if anything I'm more aware than anyone else how test-taking skills or academic success don't really apply to real-life success. I currently clean houses for a living, and am barely scraping by on that. Recently I lost one of my clients for unforeseen reasons, and that put me back in a risky situation just as far as getting by. I can still pay bills and rent, but my food and gas budgets are really restricted. I'm basically eating beans and rice and not doing so well nutritionally, which has been especially apparent these past few weeks as I've had a cold that doesn't seem to be getting any better.
I am also without health insurance. May of last year was the last time I was employed at a job that provided health insurance, and after about 4 months my savings dwindled to where I couldn't afford to make COBRA payments anymore. This wouldn't be such an issue, but I also have anxiety issues that have gone untreated for a while, especially after I decided to cut back on taking some medication I was previously prescribed due to not being able to meet the monthly costs.
I held a programming job back in May, one that I had for 2 1/2 years before finally resigning. I worked at the University I graduated from helping with a research project. When I graduated in December 2008, most of the companies I had spend the past few months interviewing for had put a stop to their hiring programs, and the job I ended up taking was the only offer extended to me. This would have been fine, but over time and especially towards the end I had a great deal of trouble at that job. It would probably be unfair to call my boss emotionally abusive, but the lack of any praise, the high level of criticism, the lack of any process, the expectation of constant overtime, constant coworker turnover, left me extremely burnt out by the time I left that job. That was in May of 2011.
Besides the fact that my boss continually trash-talked on my predecessor, my boss was infuriated with me for resigning when I did (burn-out hit me really hard and I gave short notice after my productivity dropped and my sleeping habits and punctuality became erratic, and so I thought I was actually doing the responsible thing by resigning since I no longer felt competent).
So anyways with my last job since I left I've had a high level of anxiety that any new job I apply for I have basically had no positive supervisor references. Since I left my last job I have applied for a handful of positions, but with no positive results and a sense that grew over time that I was unemployable due to my mixed work history, and my increasing interval of unemployment (at least in tech). Thank goodness a close friend of mine showed me how to clean houses and passed along clients to me, or I might have been even more thoroughly convinced of how...
27 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 70.7 ms ] threadFreelancing could be something you try to get into while looking for a job. And it would also be a way to build your resume.
I do have some pretty marketable skills: a fair amount of experience in PHP, Rails, Javascript, SQL, HTML / CSS.
I'd have no idea how to go about getting the first few clients though.
That's all you need, I have used co-workers for references before and it works just fine most of the time, you don't necessarily have to have your superior give you a reference
I guess I feel the gap in employment in tech is the bigger problem now (almost a year at this point).
That is reassuring to hear that not every employer is interested in a supervisor reference.
Use it, it costs you nothing, and works while you're asleep.
You might try CraigsList, I've heard of people getting decent jobs that way.
Follow through on your unemployment, and any other benefits program you run across. Your job is to keep breathing until your job becomes a job.
Craigslist also sounds like a good possibility too!
I don't think I qualified at any point for unemployment since I resigned, or at least that's my understanding. I'll see what I can do about benefits programs, but a lot seem based on income alone, or need paperwork that takes a while to acquire (record of monthly expenses? not sure what would count as a valid record, or birth certificate, which I don't currently have a copy of). Wish there was someone I could meet with in person to work through these things, but I don't know of any walk-in clinics or anything to help people like this.
Maybe. Apply anyway.
As for the paper work and all ... it's your job. Do it.
There's probably web sites for every agency that you want to deal with, start there.
Build something, to help keep your spirits up and your brain engaged. It doesn't matter what, doesn't matter how large or small. Small might even be better. Just build something.
Helping poor people with odd jobs and cleaning is actually something I'm passionate about, but it's also a good way to be pretty poor and destitute yourself.
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Over-Mood-Change-Changing/dp/08...)
(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-Anxiety-Helen-Kennerley/d...)
Find a friend to help give you a poke now and again.
Here's an Australian website that is often recommended.
(http://moodgym.anu.edu.au/welcome)
A few weeks work will drastically reduce anxiety.
{Start-up idea: MoodGym but better.)
http://www.righttimeconsulting.com/career-opportunities/
http://denversoftwarepeople.com/
There is a supposed lack of developers in Denver. Good advice in this thread, wish you well, and eventually, if programming is not your thing, transition into client relations, sales engineer (maybe not your thing re: anxiety), Jr Product Manager, etc.
Go to a soup kitchen for a meal every once in a while, if you feel guilty about it volunteer at a different one.
Get out of the house.
You have issues other than a job to worry about and going back to the same type of work you do not enjoy is not going to help.
Salvation Army, Red Cross or any 'decent church' should be able to direct and help you with social services.
Trust me job and money is my biggest worry, and there's not many that are bigger than that. I'll leave the existential stuff until after I have the necessities taken care of.
Good to know the nutrition might not be that bad, at least relatively. ;-)
After reading some other threads on here I'm thinking that I should probably figure out about somewhere in the city to house in so that the car isn't an issue. I live out in the boonies right now, so soup kitchen would be a commute and maybe cost more than the actual food.
It sounds like you may just be in a funk, so if you want to go out for some beers (I'll buy :), just let me know.
If you have connections and can maybe help if you end up liking me sure I'd like to get together. I'm not the most fun right now given the circumstances but I can do my best. Other than that maybe we can just get together after this personal crisis is over? I'm really not overstating things and don't have much energy for casual get-togethers right now. That's not to say I wouldn't enjoy meeting up at a later date, so don't take this the wrong way! I appreciate the offer of support.
I'm trying to figure out a way (financially) to setup a hackerspace in the area, and I'll try to get a hold of you if I succeed.
Have you looked at sites like elance, odesk, and guru? You can find small projects there that pay. It could be a good way to get some momentum back. You may have to apply for a bunch of projects to get your first assignment, but don't get discouraged. You have talent. Whatever experience is lacking on your profile, just add your test scores etc.
You mention several different ways that your confidence is low. Let me tell you a secret: the rest of us feel the same way, just that we may have managed to ignore it a little better.
Finally, learning to sell yourself isn't easy but it's no more difficult than learning to program. It's perfectly ok to mess up. Just keep trying and dont take it too serioisly - you will eventually get the hang of it.
On that note, if anyone in the Sonoma-Marin-Napa area is hiring entry-level coders or IT staff, I'm looking for work.