this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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Sounds like untreated ADHD mate. Frequently starting projects and then giving up is a common symptom.
Do you have tonnes of 5% to 15% done projects?
If so, it's because the dopamine hit of (current project) has worn out, and the dopamine hit of (shiny new project) is more enticing.
Do you often burn yourself out early on in the project, your first few days you stay up til 4 in the morning grinding, you progress wicked fast, "this is easy!"
Then suddenly you crash, burnt out, exhausted?
You have to set pace limits on the first days, purposefully stop and take a break.
That rapid fire burn out on week 1 is a big productivity killer, instead literally set the kb+mouse down, get out of the chair and go for a walk. Yes, even though you could keep going, save it for tomorrow.
Try buying an egg timer and force yourself to stop and get up and stretch every hour, and go for a walk after 4 "sets"
It's typically a good idea to first focus on a stack in demand, then once you have some $$$ you can enjoy the hobby of learning esoteric stuff :)
My recommendation is always the same:
Contact a couple local tech recruiter agencies in your city.
Ask them for what are the top 2-3 tech stacks most in demand the past 2 years, as well as any relevant certificates companies were looking for, and expected entry level wage for each stack.
Analyze those 3 stacks, pick the one that seems best for you.
Go learn it, make an easy application for it full stack with an open source DB like Postgres or Mongo
Bonus points: setup a basic dockerfile for it and docker compose
MOST IMPORTANT: Make detailed "how to install manually, how to compile, how to docker deploy" guides on the github README. Include pictures of your app in the README, make it look good to a cursory glance.
Aight now that you have a simple working app on your guthub, pin it on your profile so it's first thing people see. Link your github to your LinkedIn, add this project to your LinkedIn profile.
Now go look up those certs you found about in step 2. Look up the price to get em solo proctored from home. Usually they are a couple hundred bucks.
Do it, study, get a cert or two and add to your resume.
Okay now go back to that recruitment agency, ask them for help with optimizing your resume. This is a free service they offer, you don't have to pay as the dev, the companies pay the costs to recruit you, the process is free for you.
They will now find jobs for you, negotiate wage for you, and find interviews for you. Keep applying on your own and improve your app you made, study the deeper nuances of your stack, etc
When you do get an interview, spend the days prior studying their stack and try to get to the point you can hold a convo about . "Oh yeah, you guys use Fwibble.js? I've been really excited to learn Fwibble.js, I have heard cool things about how it is good for wumbling tuples!", etc etc
Excellent guide.