You tame that voice by doing something. Only there do you prove it wrong.
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Dude, youāre only 25 years old. That is nothing. In 2016 being in your 20s is hardly being considered a full grown adult. I left home at 25 after finishing university and spent many years afterwards finding myself and just doing all kinds of jobs. Iām 43 now and still feel young and still feel like my life is ahead of me. I have a full time job yes, but I am starting fresh with this web dev learning. Seriously, ignore all the people who make you feel like you should have your life all figured out at such a young age. Hang in there and keep at it.
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For one thing, I would encourage you to try and look at work a little differently. A person who works at a restaurant spends the most valuable resource that they have (their time) making your life better. They make your life better by making sure you get a delicious meal that you didnāt have to go hunt, kill, and cook yourself. Everyone who is involved in the process of making sure you donāt have to live like a medieval hermit deserves your respect and the respect of anyone else who benefits from that process. Your time will become more valuable to you as you get older and you start to realize you have more yesterdays than you have tomorrows. Any time you get the opportunity to live in the service of others or a cause bigger than yourself, you should be grateful for it. It doesnāt matter if youāre making a website or making a cheeseburger.
So, if we look at work in this new way and realize that all work in the service of others is worth while. What we set out to do now is discover what service we can do for others that gives us the most fulfillment for ourselves. We find our passion and take it with us on our journey to help others. Some people love to write code, like me. Others like to pour concrete, or drive big trucks around, some people want to make you a sandwich, other people might remove that ugly growth thatās been on your neck for several weeksā¦ Whatever it is we do, we all share a common pride in providing for each other and being a part of that common thread of society.
You know what? Maybe you wonāt find a job writing code! Maybe I wonāt find a job writing code! We plan and God laughs. My final advice to you regarding this would be to ask yourself why exactly you are passionate about web development. Chances are you can take those passions with you no matter what you are doing. This will help you to have pride and respect for yourself and for others.
Thank you for your post! It was very thought-provoking. 
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How do you know this for sure? Do you have any sources you could share?
P.S.: Again, I apologize to anyone I havenāt replied to yet for the same reasons Iāve already mentioned, but Iāve read all of your replies and all of them were awesome, so thanks a lot!
Coders are two a penny, thereās millions of them and not a job for everyone.
What there will be/is a shortage of, or so I keep reading, is good programmers, so we had all better get our learning heads on!
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Hey, Amir
Iād recommend this YouTube channel, which is in large part about the psychology of success
I donāt do much of the āmagickā but the insights into attitude and focus have really helped me, so they might help you too. I know what itās like to be depressed, but it is possible to dig your way out of it. Even if it doesnāt feel like it, youāre taking important steps just by being here and making the effort.
Keep going! Itās only too late after youāre dead.
Got my fingers crossed for you 
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I went from a temp file clerk to the IT department. My suggestion is, find a company that has an IT department and make a lateral move. Go from fast food to mail clerk, file clerk, receptionist. Then when you are at a place that has a department you want to work in, make friends, network. Or, volunteer at a non-profit and manage their website.
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Amir,
I was a pizza guy until I turned 26, when I got my first job in IT. It was a really crappy job, supporting customers of a proprietary piece of software that ran on an Access database. I lost that job after 9/11 happened. I then bounced around in other crappy jobs, including fast food, until I turned 32. Then I got a Help Desk job, worked my way into Network Engineering with a voice specialty. Now Iām a Cisco Collaboration Engineer, working on video conferencing technologies, making more money than I ever imagined I would back when I was spinning pies. Now Iām 41 (almost 42) and learning Web Dev because I want to build things. Everything I have ever done has helped me in some way in my career, from when I was 16 and mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, and washing dishes, to now, dealing with huge multinational corporationsā demands and differences. Every step of the journey is a lesson and an opportunity to improve yourself. Donāt stress over not being in your dream job right now, but stay focused on your goal and push ahead. You donāt need the validation of an employer to learn how to do these things, and once you get to a certain point of skill, employers will pursue you. Until then, take advantage of the time you have while working in food service. There is plenty of free time, since you donāt have to take your work home for you, you arenāt on call in case a server crashes, and you probably donāt have to worry too much about coworkers telling you that youāre not good enough to be where you want to go. Once you enter to corporate world, the risks of those things increases dramatically, but through it all, you have to believe in yourself, and continue to pursue your goals.
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47 and freelance dev for past 6 years. If you listen to Mark Zuckernerd heāll say youāre long in the tooth and that Iām a geezer. Iām getting paid and finding work. Glad I donāt have my ladder against the wall of some big data type place where I am a number. Climbing my own ladder up.
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@AmirF27 some practical advice:
- Get a portfolio to showcase of what you are capable - github is a good way to show your code.
- Start a blog and write about your projects and teach others
- Find yourself work - maybe you can offer local businesses to redo their outdated website
- NonProfits need your help even if you have not finished all FCC certificates, just ask or suggest to them that you do some kind of software for them.
- Last but not least: Focus on the process and not the result
Good luck in your journey, im sure you will make it!
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AmirF27, I feel the same way. Iām a new parent, I was laid off almost a year ago (itās going to be a traumatic anniversary), and I canāt even find freelance work. My skills were great for print publishing and production, but everyone wants a web pro with tens of websites on their portfolioā¦ Iām trying to build that up using Dreamweaver (and the code Iām learning at FCC), learn some animation, and make HTML emails. But what does the market want? Straight coding, or just a wireframe designer? Animation, or a producer who has the ābig picture?ā The buzzword is āstorytelling,ā but is it my story, or should I show that I can get the story told? Thereās my dilemmaā¦
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This thread is actually very helpful for others including myself. Weāve all been there in some form or another. I live in Canada where unemployment rate is always higher than in US. I am 38 years old. I have 3 degrees, I had been a teacher. I have been a full time Dad for the last 7 years, definitely very challenging and fulfilling at the same time. But I have been ready for a change for a long time. In this economy, I had applied to thousands of jobs in business related professions for the past 5 years, not one reply. So believe me, I had been down that path despite being a very optimistic and positive person, this happened to me as well. Was depressed, you bet. Gave up, many times over but still standing, learned something new every time I experienced it. Most importantly I am learning to start living despite less than ideal situations. Last year, I started to code for fun at codecademy and learned all the programming languages they offered in less than a year. I casually applied to see whatās out there (I am by this point, believed that no one was going to reply back as usual). I also attended local hackernest meetup here in Vancouver. Again, for free drinks and just to socialize. I was actually shocked to my core that I got calls/emials from Microsoft and Amazonās recruiters. Another big company actually interviewed me over the phone for a very lucrative Test Engineer position. Now I didnāt get a job yet, but it scared me. Wow, I couldnāt believe it. After all these years of applying for nothing, here I was actually being considered even though I am just starting out learning to code. So this year, I started FCC, completed the front-end certification and now working towards the back-end. I know there are no guarantees in the future for any of us, but I do know that the demand for a software engineers are truly real even for a relative new comer like me. I still get an odd inquiry from Microsoft despite the fact that I havenāt applied to any company for months, so I know they are searching, I just havenāt quite got to their requirements yet. I think the personal portfolio section is quite useful to showcase my work to the potential employers, something codecademy didnāt have at the time but FCC does. For me I enjoy coding, I have to code a little bit (30 mins to 1+ hour) everyday, otherwise I get grumpy, itās just the way my brain is wired. Slow and steady wins the race type of thing, but it works for me. Small amounts each day seem to get things done way easier and volumes rather than rushing. My tendency is to rush and haste but Iāve learned my lessons over the years. Anyway, this has been my story, hope it helps, as so many of your posts have helped me. Cheers!
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Iām 43 years old and have more than 5 years experience in the field. Unfortunately my last position in it I was let go over a disagreement about how much data entry was my responsibility : I wanted none. That was a decade ago. I am also a non-profitable visual artist and have spent a lot of time exploring that as well. I knew I needed to overcome my substantial recertification to get back to work, and over the last year I have earned a javascript es5 cert, another for Es6 and java, and recently the fcc front end cert. But as these came in, jobs did not. I still get turned down w/o much comment, so I am going back to college. I hope to complete my bs in digital media and Web Technology next summer. All aās so far
Honestly, the fact that I get passed up so much makes me think that the degree wonāt help either, and I am thinking seriously about going on to a terminal degree.
Iām telling you because, I feel your desperation. I know that people get left out even with talent and meaningful education. If you ever want to buddy up on the projects or challenges let me know. Iām a full time student, living with my father now,ā¦ Got nothing better to do but to keep trying.
In any case donāt give up hopeā¦ And happy holidays.
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If you are worried about someone hiring you, be your own boss. There are lots of small businessās that cannot a full time programmer. But they are willing to pay for small projects. This also helps you to build up your portfolio so you can go for bigger jobs.
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Dude, Iām 19 years old and Iāve started FCC in Dec, 2015 while I was still in high school. I didnāt go to college, I didnāt have any work experience and after three months, I got a job as a front-end developer at a startup and Iāve been there for 9 months already. You can definitely do it, especially with a degree.
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A@AmirF27, nothing worth having comes easy. I know that sounds cliche, but itās true. A few recommendations to you and anyone else who is in a similar situation from a person who hires software engineers and did not have the easy road either:
- persistence is key. Donāt quit at the first obstacle or the tenth obstacle. If something doesnāt work, reevaluate and change your tactics.
- Take advantage of the opportunities in front of you. If that current opportunity is pizza delivery then be the best pizza delivery person you can. Take pride in your work and always kick butt. It becomes a habit and people notice.
- if there is someone you know that works in the field make sure they know you are interested without becoming overbearing. Donāt ask them for a job, but ask them to explain the work to you. What do they like about it and what they donāt like about it. They will pick up that you are looking for job in the industry and at a minimum provide you with knowledge that may become useful at a later date.
- if you have an opportunity to improve your chances then take it. A 4 year degree is a minimum for me to look at a resume. Thatās where I work and other places may not be so stringent, but not having the degree limits your opportunities. Donāt get hung up on the degree part of this point, the advice applies to any opportunity. If there is a qa or help desk position position possible take it. It will increase your exposure to IT people and opportunities.
- open source projects are a huge opportunity in my opinion. Contribute and put it on your resume. A degree alone is not going to get you through. If this is something you really want then prove it. Show your passion through actions.
- if I have two applicants:
one who went to Ivy League school with nothing but a academic achievements and clearly went to the university right out of high school
another who is from a local university with some work history and went to school after
I would usually pick the latter if all else is equal. That person knows what it means work. When he/she needs to stay late to get something done they just do it because they know how fortunate they are to have the opportunity.
I hope this helps without sounding too Lombardy
Good luck!
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Iām impressed you put a lot of peopleās fear in writing. I too am near your age, lived in Silicon Valley for 12 years and now moving back to Houston. Found another passion after my photography but priced out of the Bay Area (BJMartinPhotography.com). The only people that can afford San Francisco, Bay Area are the tech people and the rest of us have to move and skill up. We have only one thing going for us, we found coding fun. Even putting our fears online is taking the bull by the horn. Thanks and good luck to you and all of us. Anyone in Texas want to meet up let me know. I just started FreeCodeCamp a month ago and finally am learning more than the other sites.
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What is digital media degree do? Thanks.