I want to thank all of you for the great comments and advice.
I had absolutely no idea that this would get so much traction. Some of you have given me invaluable insight and I hope to see more of it.
A few comments I have even lifted just to put into a note to use as reference later. I think this is awesome.
Again, I appreciate you taking the time to comment. It seems though that some of the "tough love" comments are just beating up on me for whatever reason. It's really not necessary or helpful to anyone.
Yes, Chainsaw did give me some good advice. I thanked him for his candor immediately as well.
Why do you assume his advice was ignored and assume that I am one of those "I'm awesome, why won't people hire me?" types?
I understand that, after getting responses assuming I still did low level end user technical support work for example, I should have been more clear about my little back-story.
That's on me.
Maybe I am not coming across well. Even so, comments like these that are full of assumptions are making you come across just as badly.
It's alright. I don't mean to come across as ungrateful for the advice, I have just never posted here before. I slapped that in there just because I had to put something in. I didn't give it any thought.
Not because I am careless or think that I am somehow the "smartest man in the room". I was really intimidated when writing the OP. I have a lot of respect for this site and the people who are regular contributors.
That being said, I think that those of you who have been critical without being constructive have done so, albeit unintentionally, due to your own preconceived ideas and assumptions. Perhaps due to your own negative experiences in the past with people you didn't like in your own careers.
All I can really say when responding to negative comments: "first time caller, long time listener. Sorry about the sloppy OP. I had no idea that it would get noticed, much less be this active."
My description on the profile doesn't look good because I didn't know what to put in it as I have been lurking here for a long time but never posted.
I appreciate you all taking time from your lives to try to contribute. Had I known this OP was going to generate this kind of activity, I would have actually put some thought in to this stuff. Please, don't take that the wrong way. I mean all of this with respect.
A hiring manager from a job I had for a year in Tampa back in 2005 got me my last two interviews. So, I have been attempting to tap my rather small network, It isn't that large though.
No, the financial situation is complex. It isn't about patience. Quick example would be having the opportunity four years ago to work for Rackspace as a Linux Admin but I couldn't afford to move to San Antonio on my own at that time. That's the kind of stuff I am talking about. And no, you are not making too many assumptions. It's my fault for writing such a sloppy OP.
I appreciate you being blunt. I'm not going to get anywhere if people tip-toe around any issues they may be able to bring to my attention. I'm not easily offended.
I appreciate the last point. Career vs. Job. Yeah, I could go answer phones like I did when I was sixteen but that would just be stupid.
Sorry, Did I say something negative about coworkers? And again, the talent I am referring to is the ability to learn quickly because of a great mentor I had when I was much younger. Not a superpower.
Yes, I am aware of and use some of these. I have an ex co-worker who is still a close friend and a developer who is always giving me advice and helping me find these kinds of resources.
The financial thing was more about certification training, as I was (mistakenly) under the impression that they carried more weight and would open more doors for me. Especially in the Security realm.
I had also looked at things like bloc.io but who really has that much money for that kind of training on their own? Thank you for the response!
Thanks much. The 'bluffing' was how I got the tool-belt. Again, my apologies for such a sloppy first post.
LinkedIn, while up to date, has never done anything for me but spam me about things like endorsements and birthdays.
Well, and get my contact info into the hands of every spambot posing as a headhunter on the planet. It's there though.
Former coworkers are hard to track down but all have written recommendations for me in the past. Some are on the LinkedIn page. I have no project portfolio. I don't really know how to put one together.
I like asking random people on the internet because my former managers and co-workers can't figure out why I have been unemployed for so long either.
This is rather unsettling as I have never asked for an employee record from anyone before.
I have thought to run a background check before. However, I didn't know or have the time to find out back then where to request one. I know there are a lot of sites out there who apparently generate a report for you for a price. I just didn't know if any were particularly reputable.