34 and never had a job

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I'm 34 and have never had a paying job. I'm a self-taught programmer although I do have a degree in computer science. I could go into the details of how I got in this situation but I suppose it doesn't matter. I'm in the UK.

I am looking for any kind of advice on what someone in my position can do to improve their chances of getting a job. My ultimate aim is unsurprisingly a programming gig but I'm not fussy and would probably be happy, all things considered, with anything that was intellectually stimulating and had decent pay.

I'm extremely self-conscious about not having had one but I'm hoping I haven't irrevocably screwed up.

Thanks.

Is there a disability office that could assist you in looking for work? Can you contact your college's career office and ask for help?

I graduated 7 years ago so I don't think I could make use of the universities services.

Call and ask. My college provides career services to all grads, indefinitely. Maybe yours does too.

You're right. Thanks; I'll get in touch with them.

I think you should do the above too.

I know absolute zero about programming. I think a 7 seven year gap on a CV would be an issue for may employers, so it may well be relevant what you have been doing during this time.

Are you in an area where there is work available? If not, would you be willing/able to move somewhere else?

I always told my kids that your first job is mostly about showing up, on time, every time, and then doing what you're told.

You missed out on that teenage part-time job experience and now you want to jump straight to "intellectually stimulating" and "decent pay." That seems unrealistic, to me. I think you should look for something boring and at what I would call entry-level pay, establish a good record of attendance, and work your way up. If you're like most aspies, showing up on time, every time, and not getting into trouble socially, is itself going to be a big challenge. If you like, you can think of that challenge as the intellectual stimulation.

That was a qualification to the "ultimate aim" statement. I don't expect to jump into a job like that.

Become an independent game developer?

I've heard about people making GitHub accounts and using that as their "portfolio" of sorts.

Becoming self-employed is looking more and more like the best option. The trouble with making a game is that I'd have to learn a bunch of new skills as well as spend a lot of time producing a game before I can even hope of making some money.

Yeah I've heard that too. I already have a bunch of things up on GitHub but nothing too major so I don't know how impressive it'd be.