Out of work again; seeking your advice

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1601417
by daychilde • 16 years ago
1 1 16 years ago

So I just lost my job today - not enough work to keep me busy, apparently.

I'm so frustrated with my career path, and I'd like to seek your advice on how to get someplace.

I was diagnosed with ADHD five years ago at the age of 30. Having undiagnosed ADHD was a major cause of job difficulties in the past, as well as making poor choices (working short-term contracts in the late 90s, for example).

I have worked (via contract) for some nice names - Microsoft, Texas Instruments. I have a wide range of experience in tech support / helpdesk, web design, web applications.

I'm slowly increasing my programming skills, but I am self-taught. I speak PHP and Python.

I'm not amazing at web design - although my various clients have all been happy. But I don't have the skills to make those Photoshop templates I see. On the other hand, I think I do a pretty good backend... so I've been trying to focus on that.

I'm a computer generalist - I think I fit well in situations like I just found myself in: For example, the company wanted to take photographs of all their products. I'm not an expert photographer, but I knew enough to get the camera to get good results - and they were ecstatic with the results.

But right now, I'm looking at being out of work again - thank goodness my wife works. I can't afford college when I'm unemployed; and with my resume, companies looking for experienced developers overlook me - and companies looking for entry-level tend to want a degree.

If you were in my shoes - what would you look for? What skills would you work on? What direction would you head in? Do you have any advice?

I'll be glad to answer any questions you have (i.e. to be able to give better / more specific advice).

Thank you for your consideration.

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