Trouble finding programming job with no qualifications

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Hi everyone. So here's my problem. For almost any programming job, I'm highly overqualified in terms of ability, but I'm highly underqualified in terms of actual qualifications. Has anyone here been in this situation before?

Here's some more detail. I started programming over ten years ago when I was 12. I'm familiar with almost all major programming languages. I've done game development, PL design (by far my favorite), front/backend web development, a small amount of OS dev, and various other things. I spent all of my teenage years programming, so I'd like to think that I'm pretty good at it. At one point, when I was around 16 or so, I was really into Python. There were a few things I didn't like about it though, so I wrote an interpreter in Python for a Python-like language with whatever improvements I felt were necessary. I finished it in about a month. (I was going through an anti-OOP phase at the time, so the code is completely non-idiomatic, but it works.)

That being said, my biggest regret is that I did everything by myself. I was never a part of any community, I never made any friends who coded, and to be honest I was never really concerned with proving myself to others. However, that's come back to bite me. I have serious issues with uni, so I never finished. I never felt the need to finish the projects that I started, or get involved in open source dev, so I have basically no presence online. I don't even care about money, I would just like to do something that's actually challenging, rather than some run-of-the-mill programming work that most college grads struggle with but I could've done when I was 14.

What do you guys think? Is this a possibility somehow, or should I just give up and find an entry-level programming job at some nameless corporation (ugh)?

Thanks!
aeio

(Sorry for the wall of text, btw. I suppose a lot of this was just me blowing off steam.)

You need to create a portfolio to show off your skills. Employers will overlook your lack of credentials if you can show them some solid projects you've completed.

Put together a website and upload some of your work. Get yourself a LinkedIn account and link to the website. Put the web address on your resumé. Take work samples to interviews.

I would echo starkid's suggestion to build a portfolio of programs you've created. If you can have them up and running on your website, employers can take a look at what you're capable of.

Also have a copy of the code to share: hiring managers not only want to know that you know how to code, but how elegantly you code; can you solve a problem with 5 lines of code while someone else takes 50? (There is a udacity course on efficient coding taught by a google programmer that may be worth checking out--sorry, can't remember more than that.)

Also consider what type of company you want to code for. Banking has traditionally been a good employer for programmers, but, you know, it's banking. Ask yourself what types of programs would impress them--I don't think a version of Flappy birds would be as impressive to a bank as a loan amortization calculator, for example; but again, the efficiency or elegance of the coding you used to create your program should show with everything that's in your portfolio.

Next, be as open as you can to relocating for a job, even if it's somewhere that you wouldn't have considered: for example, Minneapolis might be bitterly cold during the lonnng winters, but they have a strong high tech presence and demand for programmers.

Also look for opportunities to code for free to get experience and make connections:

1) Startup Weekend is a 54 hour long programming event held almost every weekend somewhere in the world. Would-be entrepreneurs are looking for programmers who can turn their idea into a workable app in one long weekend.

2) On Meetup, there is Game-Based Learning NYC, Game-Based Learning St Louis, and London Educational Games. All of these meetups are looking for programmers to join with entrepreneurs to create educational games.

Also, Y Combinator's job board is always looking for programmers who will eat, breath and dream coding for their start up companies.

Glenn Laniewski
Organizer, Game-Based Learning St Louis
Blog, autismplusmath
Author, 8 Tips for Improving Your Child with Autism's Success with Math

In IT Support, there are things like A+ and other certifications you can get. They cost about 300-500 a piece, but you can take the test and demonstrate knowledge.

I would look into that for programming.

I also agree, a portfolio is a great thing to have. You need to be able to show employers the skills you have, and the best way to do that is to show them what you've done.

Thanks for the responses guys! You have all been very helpful.

You have experience, doing work on your own projects. One thing to start doing is contributing to open source projects. Another idea would be doing a developer boot camp. http://www.skilledup.com/learn/programm ... tive-list/ start here, there are a few that don't cost anything, upfront and are either a paid contract at the end or a percentage of the first year salary, or internship with living stipened. Now you might also be able to find an internship at a local company. But truthfully some of the boot camps / internships might be more accepting of a person without credentials but with experience significant personal experience.

I know next to nothing about programming, but here are my thoughts:

1.) You say that you are an amazing and mostly overqualified programmer...prove it! List everything that you have programmed in your resume, and bring copies of said programs to interviews on a thumb drive or something. Describe anything particularly impressive that the programs can do. In the absence of official qualifications, you have to make your own!

2.) Get qualifications. I don't know what sort of qualifications programmers need. A degree would be very nice to have, for many reasons, but it requires a significant time and money commitment. If you don't have a degree at all it would be highly beneficial, because many companies require a bachelor-level degree before they even consider hiring you. I am sure that several programming languages have tests and official certifications that you can work towards...if you get those then it will prove that you do know what you're doing. The more you prove that you are talented, the more likely you are to find a job that needs your talents.

3.) Taking an entry-level job would be a great idea! You say that you are highly over-skilled for that kind of work, and if you are your employer will recognize it and promote you. Just make sure to join a company that has room for upward movement. Everyone starts off at the bottom of the totem pole, then once you prove your abilities you slowly move on up! Taking a job like this allows your boss to see what you can do and to see that you actually know what you're doing.

Keep in mind that programming for a job may be quite different than programming for yourself, so you may not be able to directly compare the two experiences. An employer will have far different expectations of your work, and it may not be quite as easy as you expect. It's always more difficult to work on something that someone tells you to work on, than to work on something that you actually do want to work on.

An older aerospace guy recommended using professional publications (now the Internet) to find the name and title of actual hiring managers. You do send a copy of your resume to HR, for the primary purpose that you then can call up the hiring manager, give a two- or three-sentence introduction of yourself, and then honestly ask, 'I've already sent a copy of my resume to HR. May I send you a copy also?'

aeio, from what you said toward the end of your introduction, do I gather that you may now be somewhat interested in nonpaid (at least initially) open source projects?