Hello,
I have been coding for over a year now. I think my mistake is in switching between languages and not knowing what exactly I want to do because… I love every aspect of programming. Eventually, I have decided to stick to web development just because it seems that it’s easier to start there (for me, I might be wrong). So far I had 2 webcam interviews as both positions were quite far away but in general, I haven’t been successful and I am fine with that I haven’t made many projects, there is just not much to show.
As I was looking through the forum for some tips and advice (I found quite a few, thank you all) I have noticed that quite often, having a good network is very beneficial due to the large hidden job market. I am worried about it as I have high functioning autism meaning that I find it hard to get along with people. In a job setting communication is not a problem as I do quite well as a waitress but making new friends is so much harder as it doesn’t follow any pattern nor I know what might come up next. In short, I never have really made any good friends ever in my life, not to mention creating any network to help me get a job.
I am worried that due to that I might be not able to get any job in tech and if I were to make a LinkedIn account I would get judged on not having any connections. So do any of you know if I still have a chance? I just want to program, create and be part of something.
Hello,
I cannot speak from the point of view of an interviewer (or interviewee, for all that matters) in the code industry, but I can tell you that, luckily, networking is not everything.
Just like with everything in life, knowing the right people is an advantage, but is not all there is to it, otherwise it would just be plain impossible to get a job.
Don’t give up. Ever.
work on your technical skills. If you have what a company needs, they will hire you. It’s that simple.
Networking is incredibly helpful. You don’t need to be best friends with these people, or even friends. You just need to interact with them. If you can, I suggest starting to go to some local meetup on a regular basis. It’s perfectly fine to observe without drawing attention to yourself until you feel like you have a better grip on things (if that’s something that helps, I’m making some blind assumptions here). How this ends up helping you is that eventually you are interacting with people who are working for a company that’s hiring. Then you can just ask that person for direct contact information or ask if they will pass along your resume.
As far as the work environment, programming is a field that seems to be an above-average fit for people on the spectrum. I’ve worked with people who have Aspergers, people with difficulty holding verbal conversations, and people with pronounced ticks. There’s a really high tolerance for “they’re kind of weird, but they know their stuff”.
Yeah, I have been switching between front end and back end programming but then i got to know that front end programming is quite easy to learn as compared to back end. So I just chose that. Well, I feel great that I’m doing something.
Thanks for explaining it all. I dont really know how networking would work. I live in big city but there is not many meet ups 
If i am lucky thats 2 meet ups a month and one of them is focused on ruby on rails (which I am completely not interested in) and then other one is help group for beginners. I will definitely join the second one but it’s about in a month time. I am learning, not doing any project so I have all this time to start something up.
Thanks for reassuring me 
A lot of people say ‘well you don’t look autistic’ (so nean to say that as well) so I guess it isn’t as noticable.
Yeah that’s me too. I wanted to make a website with DJango. I had pretty good project and beautiful design but the thing is… I don’t get Django at all! I find it pretty difficult and it was a deal breaker for me to just stick to one thing so I just focus on JS and other front end. Good that you found what you want to do as well, good luck 