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Impossible job hunt?

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by jaybird99

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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!!

4 replies

by dc_guy

First off, understand that you are by no means alone. Many others are in the same boat. Of course, that means that they're competing for the same jobs, which isn't so good. But at least you can take some comfort in the fact that this isn't a reflection on your own character, choices, or just plain luck.

If you're this depressed, then for the goddess's sake get some help. Find a Jungian therapist, if necessary by calling the nearest chapter of the Jung Society. Stay away from the Freudians, which means virtually all psychiatrists, because Freud's wisdom can be summed up in one slogan: "Bloom where you're planted." You've already figured out that your attitude shows and it works against you. As an interviewer I'd think to myself, "Geeze, this guy is already depressed. how bad is he going to feel after a few months working in THIS place?" You've got to mitigate your problems one at a time, in the right sequence.

If you don't have a university degree, then you absolutely must get one. Sure there are lots of brilliant people out there doing just fine without them, but you don't seem to be one of them. That's largely luck. College has been dumbed down so badly in the last two or three decades that a B.S. hardly means anything anyway. Not having bothered to get something so easily achievable doesn't look good to a prospective employer.

As for being overqualified, never EVER tell a prospective employer how much you're making now or in the past. It's simply none of their dang business. If their computer insists on it, then just lie to the blasted thing. Computers lie to us all the time, what's the difference? ^_^

If you're thinking of changing careers, well there's a lot of argument about that. But personally, at the risk of being flamed, I say get the heck out of IT while you can. IT is a mature industry that needs incremental improvement and major advances in quality. That's a textbook definition of an industry ready to move to a country with a stodgier, fussier business tradition than our American cowboy style. You're going to continue to see IT jobs migrate offshore just like autos and steel.

If you're looking for a career with good income prospects and very little likelihood of being either automated or offshored during your lifetime, I'll tell you what I tell everyone: Apprentice yourself to a plumber. The richest self-made man in our town and many like it is the oldest plumber. There is a critical shortage of kids willing to do that kind of work. Yeah it's dirty but it's honest. After a few years you get to be the boss and hire kids to crawl under the house for you. After a few more years you own your own shop and pretty soon you're making $100K and the only person in town who can charge his customers for his road time.

Life is tough. There is no easy way out of your dilemma. You're going to have to make some hard choices and/or take some risks. That's why I always recommend a therapist. They won't tell you the decision to make, but they'll help put you in the right frame of mind to make one.

Good luck.

by rayeni

When I get out of the Army, I may use my funding to take a plumbing course or something. As you say, 'Life is Tough!' I will add that in the near future, only the multi-faceted and agile will make ends meet!

by choppit

That's pretty much the way it is in the UK too. The 'traditional' trades are raking it in because large number of students chased the technical money in the 80s and 90s leaving a shortage in other areas. Over time this will correct itself, but not soon enough.

by maxwell edison

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What kind of job are you looking for, in what kind of industry or industries are you looking, and what are you offering them in return for hiring you?

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