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I looked around for a related thread but I didn't see it. If there is one, please forgive me and ignore this poo poo I'll go there. I'm 29 and living in Chicago. Last year I quit my job for the first time in my life without having a backup (was extremely stressful, poo poo pay, management only about themselves, facility in threat to being sold to Chinese investors, blah blah blah). I consider myself a stable guy but it was the first job that broke me mentally, physically and emotionally (worked 12 years between major-league stadium security and retail before that, so I consider myself resilient). Since leaving I've only managed to secure weak seasonal jobs and now I'm unemployed again in need of serious career redirection. I enjoyed studying journalism (major), it made me step well out of my comfort zone and be assertive, though the field is laughably dry. Job wise my choices were work for the Tribune (notoriously lovely and always squeezing new writers to work for free), Sun-Times (not hiring it seems), or some no-where regional paper, or beg for editing jobs in a field flush with experienced people who can't find work themselves. I don't have desire to continue it. Since quitting I dedicated myself full-time to studying web development (so far juggled HTML5, CSS3, Java, JavaScript, and jQuery for starters). Some research yielded my state is projecting continued growth, the surrounding towns pay a bit above national average for web developers, and frankly I just enjoy doing the work (making sample sites for my friends and for portfolio sake). I have friends who work in the field but unfortunately of the two of them, one is super busy out of state and the other is unreliable and (though doing financially well) is in the middle of a messy divorce. So they are a no go for advice or help. I'm trying to toss Android development into the mix too because I'm personally curious on how it all works (I'm eternally hungry for knowledge). I'm a sponge trying to absorb as much as I can as quickly as I can. TL;DR My question for those in the web dev field: I don't want to return to a college but are certifications meaningful enough to procure at least a entry-level position? Or do I need to man up and attend a university again for an associates? I've seen through the US labor site that they promote CIW as a source of certifications but I want to make sure someone can attest the certs offered are on the level. I get the field is tough, everything is tough even finding lovely menial labor, but I'd rather know I'm using the right tools than wasting $420 on a certification exam that won't yield poo poo. If certs are viable, is CIW reliable? Or are there other sources I should invest in? I've also researched that web devs also have a tendency to be self employed, which I would like to try to achieve, though I sort of want something more stable. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Feb 8, 2017 19:27
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moana posted:Isn't there a job thread in SH/SC? I would try asking there for specialized advice related to web dev jobs. As far as networking, does your Linked In not have any leads? I can't imagine you only know two people who are in tech. thanks, figured this was probably the wrong spot but I like the idea of trying hands-on training. Thank you for your reply
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Feb 9, 2017 02:22
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