So this is it guys. I just quit my job as a Front End and I’m moving(without my baby and my wife, unfortunately) to Ireland in two months to work at some pub or something like that. I’m feeling really bad right now and I’m not sure if it’s the right time to make a post about it, but at the same time I don’t think I will come back so soon to wirte anything at all. Here’s the thing: if you are 30+, don’t have a degree and don’t live in place like San Francisco or Amsterdam be careful with this self taught adventure. Don’t give up to many things for it. The truth is that the employers don’t give a s**** if you have a great portfolio or if you are a great person for learning new stuff and love js. They just care if you are young, have a degree and can hit your head really fast to spit out landing page templates made with bootstrap. And sometimes two or three lines of jQuery. Otherwise you have a great chance to get stuck in a job made for interns(the salary at least). It’s not bad, you can learn a lot. But for what? Try to get a raise. Try to find a better job paying a little more. I was making the equivalent of $650/month. For 8 months already. So I had to pick up freelancing job to work 4 more hours per day to help me pay for the basic stuff. So I was working on a basis of 14h/day. You know I don’t think I’m a Font End genius but I was good.(This is my codepen https://codepen.io/Errec/ ). People liked my projects and I was doing great with the frameworks. I just don’t think this is fair at all, I have to leave and work with something else, something that doesn’t require anything that I have learned in the last years. but I don’t have a choice, I can’t refuse to clean up a restaurant kitchen in Ireland to make 4 times more money than I’m making now with front end. Man… This is so f****** upset. Be careful fellow campers, watch out for your family first. I have to pay for my children kindergarten next year and I just can’t afford to wait for a nice overseas front end job or a response from a better company here in Brazil. That’s it. Thanks for all the help the community is great and @QuincyLarson is one of the greatest guys for the self taught and resourceless people. But I think this just not work very well for people like me. I’m sorry.
Ireland? The Republic? Known for its IT- oriented industry. There is still a chance you will come back with a better story in 3 mo…
I suspect you will find a much better gig in Ireland than in Brazil for sure. Brazil working culture might not have a place for you…
Either one way or another, @Errec, Good Luck!!! Dublin? I think you will enjoy it!
I don’t think so. I can’t get a IT job with my Visa(work+English) and the requirements for a visa like that requires at least a degree. Believe me, I have been trying to get a job outside but without a degree it’s almost impossible. I made so Skype interviews and I have been advised to get a degree because the companies just won’t wait for the government to give a visa(with is possible in some countries, but takes more time than usual if you have CS degree or something)
Hmmm… sorry @Errec… this is unfortunate for someone with such a tremendous talent… I hope all this changes for you at some point… things can be a little unfair sometimes… Good luck, mate.
@Errec I think you have much potential to create some real value to client’s who are willing to pay you for your worth (which is a lot)
Can you still reach out to those freelance clients and get more work? I’m sure this has been a path you explored, however, I was curious.
Your Super Mario Bros. 3 weather app is one of the few things I “love” on Codepen.
Yeah. he and @Neotriz set the standard for what my projects should look like and it’s a shame things aren’t going better for him. Life is just an unfair prick sometimes, but you just have to keep on trying until you succeed.
Best of luck, man
Given that we don’t just have open borders and free migration everywhere, governments are effectively obliged to act as gatekeepers in this regard.
I’m not sure what you expected or if someone told you otherwise, but not having a degree is a big enough difficulty to overcome without having to deal with immigration issues.
You at least consider if freelancing is something plausible, though there could be some tricky legal issues if you’re living overseas already.
…finally, does something stop you from getting a degree? I’d look into whether you can take classes at a local university in Ireland on your upcoming visa.
Much empathy on having to work away from your family. I’ve been doing that for the past 7 months and it’s rough.
No one is invincible and even though I had a solid offer someone else took my place. Frankly It’s hard to pick up and go from square one again and I’m living that now, at age 40.
But don’t be upset about the age.
Focus as you do have one thing right, you know your worth is far more than $650.
You have every right to feel upset, but don’t give up. One of the things you touched on was to spit out code by using bootstrap, and if that’s the case do it. Part of this game is being shameless. That said there is no one size fits all solution.
Spitting out bootstrap templates isn’t the answer. I feel only Persistence is.
Wishing you and I better luck.