I saw another post by a homeless dev in CO after doing some searches to see if there were others out there like me.

I got here due to medical issues that have finally come to being managed after 3 years.

I currently have zero cash, I am fairly new to Portland so I do not have friends and I have no family to lean on for support. I have 10 years of web dev experience, the last 3 years being very spotty; only a few contract jobs in and out.

I have a bed in a shelter for now.

I have tapped into the public health insurance so I can continue my medical visits.

I have food stamps.

I have a good laptop

I am often on a university campus using the library for charging and net.

My main problem is getting a job. This is where you come in HN community, please let me know what you all think or if you can relate.

My main languages are PHP and Python. I have extensive front end experience with Javascript as well.

No one is really looking for a PHP developer right now. And all the front end jobs want React/Redux experience or Angular. I have looked up and down on gigs and postings on Craigslist every single day.

Question: What do I do? All the recruiters think I am fit for a senior level position, but with 3 years of on and off programming I am a bit rusty and I am afraid if I apply and fail skills tests at too many places word will get around.

I really just want a relaxed junior level position, but those are hard to find. Everyone wants senior level guys in React and other frameworks I do not have. (Though I am currently teaching myself React and do know a good bit now.)

I just want to get my career back on track and get out of this shelter

Any advice for work, besides getting a min wage job. What do I do to get my web dev career back on track?

Thanks for any and all comments and my email is in my profile

The little demand left is shared among a seemingly never ending hord of aspiring freelance developers, many of whom are willing to work at prices far below that of what their skills had once demanded.

With a market such as this what place, if any, is there for new developers who wish to break into freelancing? Is there any hope at all for these developers? Or have the days of freelancing been put to an end by abstraction and oversaturation?

I am an aspiring web developer. I have been self learning for around six months and still have not found a solid path to follow. Six months sounds like a lot but realistically it has been a few solid weeks of learning since it is a side hobby that I hope will turn into my career.

Is the Web Dev job market in a good enough state that I should risk more time and money?

Thanks for any advice…

I’ve hit a point where it just doesn’t seem like the end justifies the means in the vast majority of cases anymore which really doesn’t make me excited to work on much in this space now.

The one redeeming quality of doing this kind of work is that it is in very high demand, and I worry that the price of becoming more specialized or doing something more enjoyable with less bloat is that it becomes much harder to find jobs.

Has anyone either switched from doing web development type work to something else they enjoy more for similar reasons? If anyone considers themselves very specialized in an area, do you worry about job opportunities?