Judging solely from your "resume", OP, you are in a very good position.
Try looking around Craigslist too for local companies hiring developers. That's how I got my start ~10 years ago making $70k or so. If you have any code you can share, try emailing the CEO/CTO directly explaining your interest and sharing your resume and code.
And always ignore the exact qualifications listed and apply anyway. You don't know what the candidate pool looks like for a company and listings tend to inflate what they need or can get.
Happy to chat more in email (see my HN profile) since I was in a somewhat similar place as you, OP, years ago.
Anyone, not just OP welcome to message me.
Here's the funny thing- My best career years were at jobs I found on Craigslist. They still paid pretty low next to decent traditional job sectors (banking, logistics, etc) that hire devs, but WLB was usually very good. I felt lucky to have worked at a web agency that, while not very reputable, at least didn't work their engineers to the bone at late hours.
Then I tried to "level up" around 2015-16 moving to major corporate listings on LinkedIn, Indeed, and Angel.co for startups etc, and was taken aback at how the jobs market there showed no mercy to me. I was striking out every time.
Falling behind in web tech most likely also had something to do with it, but in any case, it made my plans for a better future more difficult. I was on and off with attempting that side of the market, hence the sporadic nature of my freelance jobs in the late 2010's.
I live in a non-tech MCOL metro area. Is CL still ripe for dev work in 2022? I stopped using it after 2014 but I have noticed back then that listings were starting to dry up.
Other ideas: Would you also suggest consultancies and body shops like Accenture and Deloitte? Or would that be too out of my league? I'm just curious on the "they hire anyone with a degree" stereotype and curious to test how accurate that is.
I will message you later if I have any more questions that might come up.
It still takes me maybe 50-100 applications before I find the right job every time I go searching.
It's easy to get discouraged but just take breaks when you need to and keep trying. At least, that's what I do!
To get some data points with others' experience, how long does the period of submitting 50–100 applications take? How about time between first contact to hire? (That is, for a given company you've ended up working for, how long between submitting your application to that company and receiving an offer?)
It might be better to focus on quality over quantity in this case. Has anyone reviewed your resume and given pointers?
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These employers are often less discriminating when it comes to tech skills (especially the smaller ones), and the interviews would be more general... fewer coding challenges (if any), more about teamwork, overall cultural fit, your ability to do other semi-related tasks (SEO, graphics, etc.). They don't hire the best coders, nor do they pay the most, but they are a great way to get your foot in the door.
I got my start in a similar way, first with HTML/CSS/Wordpress (mostly self-taught), then rapidly learned other skills along the way, mostly on the job. A few years later I decided to specialize in the frontend. Pay went from $15/hr to about ~$50/hr in about 3 years. Definitely not tech sector pay, but more than a livable wage for sure. And great work-life balance. My particular field is clean energy, and it's a still-growing sector with a lot of tech-adjacent opportunities.
The job in that link is a junior job. I'm pretty open to reverting to a junior W2 job, with a modest (but not too low) salary, BUT it does raise the concern of presenting myself to employers.
I already know that a lot of employers will see 10 years experience and applying to junior jobs as a big red flag. Do I just present myself with a shorter resume, with less experience? Navigating the jobs market when you're stagnating 10 YOE and "expert beginner" is a big headache.
Resume: Just make it tight and to the point. In interviews, press that you can solve their problems and work well with their team. Avoid companies that want live-coding whiteboard interviews and focus on ones that do take-homes or other assessments to ensure you are a good fit.
Having read a few of your responses, you seem to be over-thinking it. You need to just get in a role, start performing and start working your way up. Don't be afraid to switch jobs at the 1-year mark as opportunities arise if they don't value your growth and contributions, but try to avoid leaving a job < 1 year unless it turns out to be a bad fit and/or unsupportive.
With job applications, I will try out an A/B test with resumes. One of them with a lot of years pruned from my experience so that employers will have fewer negative biases about looking like a dinosaur or other related "laziness".
I also did that and it got people to wonder, in resume reviews, why my freelance content is so short given the amount of years.
I have done ~18 months worth of work in the time spanning from 2015 until now. It is sparse. So looks like there's not an easy way to spin this. I might just tell them I was a caretaker for my mom (which is the truth).
Do you get contacted by recruiters? It's in their interest to be honest to you about your chances, they might be able to provide good feedback or even direct you to companies that fit you.
Companies also want that, honestly. Hiring juniors and mid-level is a pain in the ass too.
Someone with a lot of field experience but willingness to learn would be a good fit in lots of companies.
Also lots of companies need people to working with marketing. For this case your skills are far from outdated.
(Sorry for the late reply!)