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It certainly helps to already have X skill. There may be some positions where that's a non-negotiable requirement. For most, you only need to show some experience with something related to X skill, and a willingness to learn quickly.

The barrier to entry for programming is very low. Anyone can get started and build things. They can put their code up on github and start displaying what they've learned. They need to keep learning and challenging themselves though.

The problem is that there isn't a lot of demand for "smart" or "talented" people who can't contribute quickly. Someone who writes bad code and adds bugs to production software is a drag on everyone else's productivity. In most companies there just isn't the time or resources necessary to teach basic programming skills.

You probably don't need to know skill X to land a job, but you need to show that you can learn it quickly. If you can learn it quickly, then start learning it on your own. Most companies in SF don't care how old you are, they care that you can be productive quickly.

It's totally understandable for a 10-man startup to not want to take in a relative newbie and have him/her drag down the team's productivity when they've got to ship in a month. However, for bigger companies (not necessarily giants like Google either) it may well be worth it to invest in a number of somewhat less experienced employees and grow them internally. The only problem, I suppose, would be selecting the right people.

A large percentage of "the right people" will have already invested in learning programming and the innumerable related skills, because that's what they're interested in and have been interested in for a long time. Thus, being a bit older without much experience is a bad signal from a company's perspective. But if you learn aggressively on your own, it can be overcome. Don't expect to learn all the random skills on a company's dime, though - the salaries are too high to justify that.

You've been searching for a month, you've been getting interviews, even repeat interviews, and you are complaining? Not to make little of your situation, but I don't think you really have a whole lot to complain about, especially because any place with a real HR department is going to take at least a month to get you into a job.

Also, SF is expensive, and if you are staying somewhere expensive in the city while trying to find a job, you're doing it wrong. Move out to Oakland/Berkeley or even Hayward/Fremont, one of the other cheaper places and stretch out your money til you find a job... Then be prepared to look for a place to live, which is harder than finding a job in my experience... Especially if you are out of money by the time you get a job and don't have enough for the deposit of wherever you live.

Be prepared for things to take a long time, and with that in mind try to stretch out your money.

Any employer who can't hire you in a week start to finish either doesn't actually want you or is too defective to be worthwhile. Maybe two weeks if it's out of the area and you need to fly to visit them for the final round of interviews.

(the exception being for VP/COO at larger companies where a board would need to sign off)

I didn't mean to be complaining. It's just an unexpected outcome for me. I can't remember ever having to look for this long before. About half the work I've done has been under my own employ and 80% it has been in Taiwan or China. Truth be told, I've never dealt with a "real HR" department before!

I've got a $500/month place in Chinatown, and really haven't found anything near that price with English speaking landlords. It's not to the point of missing rent or anything that dramatic yet, but I have taken on some $11/hr writing and translation work via various freelancing sites as well as some similarly priced work on a rails project. It's the surest way I see of surviving long enough to beat the chicken and egg problem of getting relevant experience.

Just don't tell prospective employers about doing programming gigs for $11/hr, that certainly doesn't speak very well to your judgment.

I'd love to hear the arguments for doing $11/hr programming jobs instead of just getting downvoted.

While I felt compelled to downvote you, I won't since you ask nicely. You should explain how it doesn't speak well for his judgment. Doing translation work isn't the same as programming on the pay scale, and any respectable employer should realize that when it comes time to discuss compensation for a programming position. In fact, I feel it speaks highly of his character in that A) he's motivated enough to continue with some form of work while looking for a programming job, and B) that he has the talent to do translation work in the first place.

You may have missed the "similarly priced rails work" part. I did on my first read.

Can you offer some constructive advice?

I've been actively seeking something paid at a higher rate using platforms I've already worked on (iOS or JS/CSS), but it's going slowly. Translation is good for helping me continue to use and strengthen my 2nd (or 3rd) language. The rails work is priced as it is because I've never used rails before and I'm spending at least half the time reading docs. It's not a good long-term money-making solution, but I am learning and I'm adding something to my portfolio.

What would someone with good judgement do if their funds were running out and finding a real gig was clearly in sight but moving slowly? Missing rent would bring all kinds of pain I don't want to deal with and wreak my credit.

> Move out to Oakland

From all that I have heard and read, do NOT move to Oakland.

"but I'd say over half of those leads end up cutting me at an HR filter before I can even get an interview!

"From what I understand it's due to two things-- at 34, I'm older than others going for junior positions."

I hope any HR people who have had your resume cross their desk are sweating at the thought of age discrimination scrutiny.

It may be there's a shortage of HR talent, not tech talent.

>I hope any HR people who have had your resume cross their desk are sweating at the thought of age discrimination scrutiny.

Did Glinda flit in from Oz and wave her magic wand, correcting the past two generations' worth of age discrimination problems in the Valley? Did the EEOC's jack-booted thugs suddenly start raiding offices last week and I didn't read about it in the Murky News?

>It may be there's a shortage of HR talent, not tech talent.

But they not only have certificates, they have college degrees in HR now! A shortage? That's unpossible.

I said talent, not bodies.

HR defines talent as certificates and diplomas.

I'm in a pretty similar situation (30 years old, no full-time programming on my résumé, but a long history of technical problem solving).

One thing I'll add is that, at least for me, the problem of employers only looking for people with X skill right now is not as bad in SF as it is elsewhere. I'm in Washington, DC and the only interest I've gotten has been from companies in the Bay area.

That sounds crazy to me. Are you able to get a clearance of any kind? If you are eligible then there should be thousands of jobs in the DC area to choose from.

Of course, those aren't super exciting startup-like jobs, but they are places where you'll get a bunch of experience.

I already have a clearance. I guess this means I've probably been talking to the wrong people.

For the contractors I've been talking to, when I tell them that I write python when I can, PHP when I'm patching stuff I wrote a few years ago, and javascript when it needs to run client-side, and that I spend my days maintaining systems running Ubuntu server I get a response something like "yeah... that's not really what we're looking for.

And maybe I've been too quick to dismiss working in a Windows/ASP/VB shop. Those folks have challenging problems to solve too, and reasons for using the tools they use. Thanks for reminding me of that.

"already have X skill" is right but it's not everything. People are irrational about hiring in that they include (filter on) many features which are not really relevant. Like age and weird looking history and lack of salesmanship. These things shouldn't matter if you are just trying to get someone to build things well.

If you're looking for a job, it would be worth putting your email address and a website or linkedin profile or something in your hn profile.

The LinkedIn profile was a great suggestion. Thank you!

Put your public email in your profile, I was about to contact you about my company but I can't because it isn't listed.

If you want to find work, make yourself easiest to get a hold of. ;)

Also, start hacking up a portfolio.