Perhaps my woes will offer comfort to others seeking re-employment…
I wake up most days with panic attacks, wondering whether I will ever find another job. I left a position December 2003 as the lead (only) developer on a doomed project in academia. I had spent 2 1/2 years trying in vain to get the non-technical professor who hired me to reign in vast scope creep, and nail down any of the requirements. I also spent 2 1/2 years letting my other IT skills stale, working only with J2SE and a bit of XML. My prior job had been doing miscellaneous web stuff — application development, tech support, training — also in an academic setting. Before that I was completing a BA in Psychology.
At the end of my last job my employer went from pleading with me to stay on for another funding cycle to being openly hostile to me and then ceasing all communications (while I was still at that job). I had no co-workers. I therefore have no references from that job; all my references date back to my only other IT job almost 4 years ago.
I don’t know .NET, ASP, VB, or any other Microsoft crap, nor do I particularly want to. I’m completely willing to learn new technologies but find that it’s impossible to invest much time in this when I have no idea whether any given technology will be relevant to job opportunities I may discover.
As I’ve heard others lament, I too have been told that I’m overqualified (euphamism for something?) and that I’m underqualified. In fact I have received no other feedback in my year-long job hunt. Lacking a technical degree I get discouraged that apparently “entry-level” now means a BS (MS preferred) in computer science or a related field, plus 3-5 years proven experience with Java, VB, .NET, ASP, UML, XML, Oracle, and demonstrated ability to complete all phases of the software development cycle. Entry-level? WTF?
Instead, I have 5 years experience doing so many things that I lack depth of experience in any one technology or role. I’ve learned 7 languages, built projects in Flash, SMIL, edited audio for streaming, developed and taught tutorials for faculty, prototyped, tested, and integrated modules for a complex desktop application involving custom Swing components and database management. But I can’t get an interview.
So I have panic attacks and oscillate between flurries of earnest job-seeking activity and researching completely new careers. I’ve tried unsuccessfully to get non-IT jobs (typically I’m told that I’ve made too much money to be hired, or I’m overeducated). I’ve talked to a career coach, several recruiters, networked through friends and my church. I’m losing my mind. In fact the biggest strategy for (largely theoretical) interviews at this point is to deflect attention from the fact that I’m a depressed, anxious wreck with almost no confidence in even my technical abilities anymore.
I wish there were more of a question in this, but basically I’m looking for any type of advice. Once upon a time — and I’m sure others out of work can relate to this — I got a job based on my intelligence, creativity, ability to learn, and articulateness. Now it seems as if hiring people can only see these things in the form of concrete accomplishments (increased my division’s annual revenue by blah blah blah). Well I’m sorry but I was working in ACADEMIA! We didn’t have real deadlines. Management had no idea what “process” was. Object-oriented programming and design was believed to be a fad! So for God’s sake, won’t someone hire me as an entry-level cubicle slave? If I’m overqualified I can unlearn! I’m excellent at forgetting knowledge and letting skills atrophy! Just give me a chance!!