

Out of work again; seeking your advice - daychilde

So I just lost my job today - not enough work to keep me busy, apparently.<p>I'm so frustrated with my career path, and I'd like to seek your advice on how to get someplace.<p>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).<p>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.<p>I'm slowly increasing my programming skills, but I am self-taught. I speak PHP and Python.<p>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.<p>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.<p>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.<p>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?<p>I'll be glad to answer any questions you have (i.e. to be able to give better / more specific advice).<p>Thank you for your consideration.
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rdrimmie
I don't know where you are, but one thing I'm noticing a lot of in this part
of the world (Southern Ontario) is local, outsourced IT companies. GeekSquad,
sort of, but independent generalists. You can help people figure out their
desktop computers, and put together a small website for them and maybe program
their phone system, etc. Any small business has a ton of tasks they could
benefit from having a 'digital handy person' type of role.

So you could start one yourself, or look to the ones that already exist to see
if they're hiring. Being a generalist, having experience with a lot of
different disciplines, being self-taught those are all desirable qualities.

I also think that generalists make for good community managers, especially
with a bit of experience developing and support. You're able to translate well
and understand both the community's point of view and that of the developers.

With a few years of technical experience, if your resume isn't opening doors -
for either experienced or entry level positions - I think it's worth
considering some extra help. Consider a resume expert or consultant. Requires
money outlay, so possibly hard to justify but you might be able to fake it out
a bit by working with recruiters and getting their feedback. It is subpar, but
free.

Google for 'Let's All Find Awesome Jobs', it's a cheap digital book that has a
ton of great advice.

