Something else I think hasn’t been said yet: never let money be the source of your happiness! You are not entitled to anything.
Just so it’s clear I’m not wisecracking from a golden bathtub: I’m 32 and have also been working for low wages. It doesn’t bother me, since it has been for a good cause (a non-profit) and a great learning experience.
Lots of great replies here and I agree with a lot of it - that you should keep this thread up for people in need of inspiration and motivation who may be in a similar place but may not post.
A college degree can be worth it, sure, but I think a bootcamp for your purposes will be better. They’ll teach you what you actually do on the job, so you can skip the general eds and all the other classes that aren’t truly necessary. It’s a shorter time frame (usually 3-6 months) and will cost less compared to a college degree, and there’s aid that can help you finance that. You do need a bit of programming experience beforehand for some, so keep going through the FCC curriculum!
I work in a low-wage job myself at the moment and am also learning to code at the same time, and many others are doing so too as you can see. You got to do what you got to do, so keep that job and make as much time as possible for coding - if you closely track your hours and allocate them, you’ll see that you have more time than you think you do. But don’t cut back on social life and certainly not on sleep - that contributes to depression.
Also, I know you mentioned that you’re making progress with other resources, but I highly recommend you make FCC your focus and do the other resources as well, but that should be second. If you really put all your focus on FCC, you’ll earn the front-end certificate soon, have a pretty decent background in front-end web development, and have a whole portfolio of projects to show, which as mentioned by others, is what employers look for.
Good luck!
32 here, and I did a low wage job all my life, last 10 years at the same place. They offered me a deal, they would pay me 6 more months and I would get some help with interviews from a professional. I did this, because besides the fact that it was a low wage job, it was destroying me physically. The work hours were bad, and it was heavy as hell. There was not a day the last 5 years I would not have pain in my body somewhere.
My background is highschool, and I never finished college. So my resume is shit. after 3,5 months of the deal I still without a job. I am afraid I will end up at the same type of job in the end, maybe at lower wages. It kinda bugs me how low wages are on these heavy jobs. You see your boss do something you can do as well for much more money and no physical effort, but because you have a shitty resume you will never get that job.
In my opinion, if you are fit to program, you have a decent mental capability. You are able to analyse and solve complex problems. Still its hard to prove that you have this without a decent portfolio to back it up. I finished my calculator project, and nearly finished the pomodoro clock and know that I am capable of a lot. But I feel that for the next couple of years I won’t be able to feel fulfulled at any job I do. The world just never accepted who I am. All they look are certificated and degrees. So its accepting the low wage job, or have nothing at all. And maybe one day, if I keep up progressing my programming I will get a job that pays enough.
I’m the same way. I’m 28 and am working a minimum wage job. I have a BA (which I got 3 years ago), but I honestly have no idea what to do with it, so here I am. I’m considering getting a second job since I have no other idea how I’m going to make more money (besides getting a developer position, but who knows how long that will take).
The job market now days is really tough.
I am 25 and turn 26 next month, I have a bachelors degree in computer science which I got last Spring on May but that doesnt help me.
I had only 1 jobs out of the 17+ interviews that actually asked to see my degree.
Jobs are more looking for real world experience and at least 2 professional references.
The good thing about college was that I was able to do a couple of internships although I didnt get paid a dime.
I spend about 8-14 hours a day studying, building my portfolio and been doing so for the last 4 years when I really started getting into programming and thinking about my future.
I have had a couple of opportunities though but my criminal background prevents me from proceeding all good job offers.
I had a DUI and a possession of xanax back 5 years ago when I was 20 and that automatically disqualifies me from most jobs which will be something that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
Hell I even got rejected from a minimum wage job at walmart because of my criminal background.
Their is no second chances anymore in America, I just have to accept being homeless or because minimum wage jobs is not enough to survive anymore and that is if they will even hire me…hell even Mcdonalds does background checks.
My main focus is just to be the best I can at programming so that I can have very strong foundation and can hopefully just do freelance work or come up with some awesome App idea that will get me enough money to live without dealing with the corporate world.
I have a couple of my friends that made Apps that generate 500-1000 a week so it is defenitly possible. Just have to find the right product and niche.
I feel your pain, and it does suck to no end.
I was/am a self-taught student. I spent 3 years of time and money paying for tutorials on how to learn web design after finishing my freshmen year and dropping out of college. I had student debt and credit card debt paying for courses while working full-time and studying the rest of my time.
I got so burnt out I ended up stopping coding altogether and decided to pursue other passions I had as a career, like sports coaching and personal training. Went into more debt and none of those paid off.
So the beginning of 2016 I threw my life back into coding having no job and living off of unemployment and what was left of my 401K. I found odd jobs in coding that helped me learn some skills and not go completely broke. Finally this year I found a role as a web designer making a humble, but better than I’ve ever made, salary of $40,000 a year.
So I don’t know everything but I do know a few things from my experiences.
Work-life balance: keep one. I know the temptation is to throw everything into coding but don’t forgo other important things just to code 24/7. Sleep when you can, work out to keep your body and brain healthy, and as long as your hobbies are productive, you can play guitar and read in moderate amounts of time.
Don’t give up: I forgot so much taking my 6-month to a year of coding. But also taking that break allowed me to grasps concepts more easily than when I was burning myself out every day trying to memorize them. So take breaks when you’re stuck, don’t be afraid to give your brain a rest, or give it a different challenge.
Don’t be afraid to step back to take two steps forward: This was one for me. I was blessed to find jobs that may not have paid lots, but gave me experience in different things. I learned basic PHP security from a job I hated. I earned $800 a month working at a Bootcamp, I got access to the curriculum and people who did have degrees and years of experience and took advantage of it to ask questions. We had some students who graduated and made more than the teachers, it was humbling, but every situation is different, and you can’t compare yourself to everyone else, some people get breaks, some have to make their own breaks, those are the breaks, kid.
Meetups: The Bootcamp I worked for had them, it is great for networking and seeing where you stand and hearing how people got to where they’re at today.
Don’t give up: I know it sucks not being where you feel you should be at your age. I’m 25. I was a smart athlete in high school. I have friends who have Master’s degrees or play in the NBA, Princeton graduates or overall geniuses. Everyone has to start somewhere. Just take it a day at a time.
Well there’s my two cents, I hope it helps.
Depends on how you approach the skill of coding. If you are using the skill in exchange for a Job or if you are using the skill to solve problems.
If you exchange it for a job, your employer is using your skill to solve problems in the market. You get a paycheck and smaller risk and the employer takes on the risk for a large upside.
Cut out the middleman, take on the risk, keep iterating until you experience the upside. Markets don’t care about anything except the solution to a problem. Coding is a skill that allows that transaction to take place.
And no, it does not require a silicon valley mentality where you need a high end team with a 50 mil seed round, with a slim hope of an exit.
Domain, hosting, a personal itch that you can scratch WHILE you learn to code, and some basic marketing is all you need. Even if you do not hit with a sustainable biz, you will have a real world project in your portfolio along with marketing skills. Plus, a story. String together a few of those and you have a killer skill set.
I’m 29, and have mostly always just had low paying entry level jobs. I’ve found it’s best to not compare yourself to others. You’ll always be doing better than some, not as good as others. And for what it’s worth it seems like you’re doing great. Your tribute project was VERY well done IMO (and I love Opeth btw!) . Keep at it man. If you ever want a study partner or a fellow beginner to code stuff with, message me. That seems like a great way to go about learning rather than just trying by yourself, which is what I’ve done. Keep up the good work!
Is your certificate related to coding? Are you working with coding in your current job?
If you are not now coding, your objective must be to learn enough to get a coding job. If you already code, stay one or two years then look for another job, you will get more money.
I’m feeling a little disheartened after today more than usual.
I’m 28 years old and I’m underemployed. I work part time as a cashier and still live at home. It’s frustrating because I’m doing work that a high schooler could do and I’m almost 30.
I’m so ashamed of how I live. I’m always hesitant about telling other people about my living situation, especially women I date. And I can’t take the disrespect I receive from customers anymore.
I have had a BA for 3 years, but it’s in a useless field (Asian Studies). I’ve never worked a full time job in my life, and I don’t even know where to begin. I don’t even care at this point what it is. I just want to finally be an adult and stop feeling like I need to hide my life from everyone I meet.
And I feel like it’s only going to get worse for me with Trump as president
Hey man, don’t despair. I see you’ve completed quite a few of the projects. Have you tried looking for web development work? Look at indeed.com and authenticjobs.com. Apply to anything and everything. Make a resume and send it out. Join local hackathons.
Know that you’re not alone. Check out this thread:
I’m going to close this thread and merge your post into that one. Just to keep things clean.
Trump as presidesnt doesn’t matter. Neither does any president. There is blatant corruption going on in every part of the country. We live in such a less than ideal system. But it’s easy to just point the finger at someone like Trump because he’s an asshole, when it truly doesn’t matter. He couldn’t make a difference if he wanted to. which he doesn’t. I don’t think any president does.
I get the feeling of being a loser though. If you live in a decent area, chances are you can find another part time job where you’re not in the service industry. It’s just not a fun place to be.
I’ve been working at target for a few months and even though the environment is okay and I like my hours, I’m looking for another job.
Once we get in a cohort in FCC I think having a group like that will be a little more conducive to learning than on our own.
The hardest part of the whole degree thing is the cost… second hardest is the time!
My son is in school for digital forensics, when all is said and done that will be like $80,000.
I didn’t take coding that seriously until last spring when he asked for help with a Java project. I helped him out and he ended up turning in the only working version of the program.
I’m 48, have a decent job driving a truck for a grocery chain and have no illusions about being the next senior programmer on zuckerberg’s team… I decided to sign up for a CS degree at the tuition free University of the People. My degree will take 8 years because I only have time for one class per term. I will be 56 when I get that degree. Grand total cost $4,050.
I have that, FCC, slowly stuffing theough the Odin project, and learning to write apps in android studio to filter in with being dad and grandpa… if you want it bad enough, you will find a way.
I’m. Not nearly to the level of most (or all) of the other campers here, but I find this fascinating being able to create web pages on my laptop. Those a-ha moments that I found in the resources so kindly shared by @P1xt like Shay Howe’s tutorials, the YDKJS books and the CS50x course that will likely take me 8 monthts rather than 8 weeks…
My son went to a security conference with the school and 2 different recruiters told him that a coder’s portfolio is more important than their degree, and in some cases they have hired people based solely on ability.
You have youth on your side… build the portfolio while finding an affordable degree.
This might be the best time in history to truly master skills for free that I have ever seen, take advantage of it!
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to reply! I can’t believe how supportive this community is. I’m also glad my thread seems to have helped some people. I hope it will help more people in the future who are in a similar situation to mine.
Hi @mels065. We’re in pretty similar situations, although I work at a pizza parlor myself, been there for about 9 months. It’s the first job that I’ve held for more than 3 months and I was completely unemployed for a few years before that. I have also never worked a full time job in my life, but I was informed just a day or so after posting the thread that I’m getting promoted to shift manager, so I don’t know if this counts. Could you perhaps ask for a promotion yourself?
Look at the bright side, you have a BA. I know it’s not related to web development, but I’ve heard that employers are more likely to hire people with a degree, any degree, so it could be useful in the long run. And you seem to also be dating, which is another thing that’s not going well for me personally (this is embarrassing, but I’m going to say it in the hopes it’ll make you feel better, I’ve only managed to get maybe 2 dates in all my life). My point is that there are at least some things that are good in your life.
I can completely relate to that. That’s just how some customers are. A customer once told me that I’m a pain in the *** while making an order on the phone, and yes it did anger me beyond anything I can describe, but you know what? The attitude of those customers tells you something about them as a person, and thinking about them and their disrespect is a waste of your time and energy. Counter their disrespect with respect, and then I assure you they won’t feel so great about themselves anymore, and it’ll spare you the waste of energy thinking about them.
Also, don’t hide your life from anyone. Anyone who thinks bad of you or your life is not worth being in it. I don’t like hiding my life from people I meet, because first of all I like seeing their reactions to something that’s different (they can’t grasp the idea that sometimes life doesn’t pan out perfectly), and second, because I like to know what they think of me before making the decision of having them in my life. The stuff you’ve talked about don’t make you less of an adult. You’re working and you’re making honest money. How many more 28 year old individuals are not working at all because they’re “waiting” for the perfect job and would rather not work at all than do a job as a cashier for example? Well, according to some research I’ve done myself, a lot, and I meant a lot, are. Some have told me flat out that they’re not willing to do such jobs, and prefer to be unemployed. So you have my respect. 
I have a suggestion for you. At the moment I’m working through this guide (again, big thanks to @P1xt). I’m determined to complete it, all of it. It also has some computer science material, which is a huge plus. It’ll take time, but I believe that if you complete it, you’d be qualified for a lot of developer jobs. It also has FCC projects as part of the material.
I hope that knowing that at least one other person is in the same boat as you and feels your pain makes you feel a bit better. A lot of other people who have replied are also in similar situations, and even those who aren’t have provided some useful and supportive replies, so reading those replies might be helpful to you as it was to me.
Hey, thanks! Good to know there’s another Opeth fan here. 
I’m currently going through the web development with computer science foundations course posted here in the forum, so the projects would take more time, and I’d be doing other projects listed in the guide as well. If you’re willing to do the guide as well, perhaps we could do a few of the projects together, that would be great.
Thanks for the reply, and I’m glad the thread is helpful and seems to be a source for inspiration and motivation for some.
Well, honestly, I’m going through one of @P1xt’s guides, which requires full focus, but also has FCC projects as part of the guide. So I’ve decided to go through the guide and do FCC projects as they come up in the list. I find it works better for me because it has so much material and a lot of extra projects, as well as some computer science stuff. I want to make sure I understand everything and I’m the best I can be at it and that I’m well qualified for jobs.
I would say go to school! A general education not only prepares you for a multitude of disciplines, but also exposes you to a host of topics that help you mature as a student of the world and life itself.
Just be sure to choose the best school possible for a BS in CS, if being a CS major is what you really want. And know that there’s more to it than just programming! But if it’s programming that you’re truly interested in, then consider a different area of study and minor in programming. A domain expert with programming knowledge will always be a great hire. Employers know that they have the ability to get themselves up to speed with little use of company resources. They would also possess the patience and soft skills that are needed to interact with customers. You know, the ones that pay the bills!
So, when looking for a school, consider one that employs students and has a great internship program with businesses. Also, use that cousin as a resource. Her company just may intern family only. That could lead to a part time position during school and full time out of session. She should be number one on your linked-in profile!
I would say that a pure CS degree should be reserved for those going directly into research or striving for managerial ranks in a bare bones software firm. They would do the heavy lifting like developing operating systems, programming languages, and choosing platforms and technologies.
Oh, and stop projecting yourself in such a bad light. I hope you are not blogging anywhere? An employer will never let you take part in a several million dollar project, if you lack confidence in yourself. Your boss seems confident in you, as a worker, to give you more work. How about building a mock portal for the pizza place that also handles the operational logistics. That way when you create your resume, potential employers will see that you have initiative and drive. So chin up, chest out and soldier on! Good journey friend.
@r-igle I’m not really sure, but I’ve decided that for now I might not go to college. Instead, I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing, and see if it works. I’ve decided college is an investment, not only a monetary one, but also a huge time investment that would leave me no time for anything else. A lot of people have managed to get developer jobs without degrees, so why can’t I? Some people have said on other threads that if you dig deeper into the “I got a job” threads, you see that those people have degrees, some experience… etc. That was initially the source of my worry. But then a few other experienced users on the forum have told me that even just learning by yourself and building a portfolio alone would qualify you for a lot of jobs. I chose to trust the more experienced users, and I have no doubt what they’re saying is true, so that’s what I’m doing. The only reason I’ve wanted to go to college is I thought I have no chance of getting a developer job without a Bachelor’s degree.
I’ve tried. Several times. I got a phone call, then the guy told me that they’ll check out my resume, and if I’m a good fit, they’ll summon me for an interview. It’s been 7-8 months now, and I’ve received no additional phone calls. I’ve tried applying to like 3 or 4 job positions through my cousin at her company, to no avail. I’m not interested in working at that company anyways. What I can’t fully understand though is I just found out not long ago that a guy (that’s actually also his real name, lol) who used to be my classmate got an interview at the same company, and I was at least twice better than him at college. Luck, is the only explanation (and I mean me having bad luck in this particular case). Anyways, he wasn’t accepted because he’s a father and they needed someone with a flexible schedule who could work overtime. Hopefully, with the effort I’m putting in and when I get a portfolio online, I’ll have more chances and actually manage to get a job, or interviews.
Hey, if you are in the states, try searching sites like indeed for application specialist and business analyst. These white collar positions train you to use their software and service the customer. Often, people with an aptitude for coding can cross over to being a developer, debugger or tester. I would also look specifically in the healthcare sector. There are good jobs waiting for you at healthcare vendors and hospitals. Hope this bit of info brightens your spirit.
I have worked at Target for the past five years. I started as seasonal and am now an ETL. Ask around and you might be surprised how many of your peers are interested in coding. Over the last few weeks I have talked at least 3 other people at my store into trying FCC and some of the other free resources.
Don’t get me wrong. I am here because I can’t stay at Target much longer but don’t discount how many people around you might be interested in the same things.