Discouraged when applying for jobs, any suggestions?

Finding jobs these days are more about who you know, more than anything. Dig deep in the connections you already have, and try to find an in. It could be that your best friend's mother's favorite coffee barista has a brother who works in the tech field.

Continue to study and build yourself; you're never done learning in this field.

Build a profile that stands out. While you're not employed in the tech field, work on projects you want to. You'll get more practice, and have a better portfolio.

Why is the portfolio costing money? Something pretty simple should suffice. $15 or less a year for a domain, $10 or less a month for a simple web host. You should be able to code up the rest of a simple, yet complete portfolio.

Keep in mind, you've only applied 5 times. Work on getting more contacts out. If there is a place you really want to work, see if you can intern there for free for a few weeks. You'll learn more, gain some experience on your resume as an intern, and the company gets to test drive you for free. They might hire you; how you fit in with the existing team is very important, as is your ability to do the work.

Almost all of my jobs have come from my connections. My current job I received because my boss/the owner was a customer of my previous job. That previous job I got cause that boss and owner lived across the street from my mom. It's all about connections.

Keep at it!

As much as the tech industry harps on and on about needing engineers, they sure do make it difficult for people to work at their companies. Even with an electrical engineering degree, it's almost impossible to convince these guys that I'm beyond capable of learning whatever it is they need to perform the job.

Hi Rachel

There is much that it would be possible to say on this.

1. If its your passion and something you want to do then stick with it through thick and thin.
2. Why not have a crack at some freelance work there are always people looking to hire people to do bits and pieces of projects if not the entire thing - Not that I would recommend hiring yourself out cheap as cheap but if building a portfolio is costing money then why not build one while you are being paid to do so.
3. Remember not all jobs that you see advertised actually exist - especially those from recruitment agencies.
4. I have a degree (a first class honours one none the less - its not worth the paper its written on - from my experience)
5. As Kevin says continual study is a major part to play.

Try some web specific recruitment agencies that might have freelance positions available as well. This might not be the full time secure position you are looking for but maybe you can cut your teeth with small 6 month contracts.

Send me over a copy of one of the sites you have built so far we often have a need for a freelance developer - its all straight forward CSS and HTML - non responsive work and small websites - so good to cut your teeth on. It may not be at this stage regular work but who knows what will come from it.

G

Thanks for all the advice, I haven't built any complete websites as I have been working non-stop and have not had the time. I am just seriously questioning whether or not this field is even worth the hassel. I like coding and websites, but I'm not sure if I am truly passionate enough to continue. I am giving myself another month on here to decide, but I can't help but think "why bother taking 18 months to build up developement skills and land an entry level job, when I can get a paralegal or some other certification in three and start working?". I know not every developer has a degree, but I live in the real world where connections rely on that "piece of paper". That's why I find job boards a little less than helpful, you have to compete with people who already have a degree and experience and without both your application goes straight to the trash. It's just not worth the trouble anymore to me. I'll probably just finish my wordpress blog for personal use and call it quits from there.

Good luck to you too Stephen and thanks!

I am contemplating which bachelors to finish at the moment. I will have an associates degree in computer science this spring. I am not sure if I want to persue another degree in computer science, I could finish a finance degree in a year and a half and it would cost less(I am pretty math savvy so I could begin actuarial exams this spring/summer and look at an entry level job in less than a years time). I like development, but it just feels like there are other paths that are much easier and quicker. I could be working by this summer versus waiting another two years to land a job.

I am actually thinking of focusing more on back end developement for the next few months. I already know Java and c++, so objective c, ruby and javascript shouldn't be too bad.