dayon

Here's my brief story. I'm a 30 year old white male in the USA. I have a bachelors in psychology, an incomplete graduate degree in psychology (60 out of 66 credits), no criminal record, good credit, over 50k in student debt, and a failed startup to my name. I spent the last three years learning to program because I had an idea for a website. I created it, but frankly, I don't have the business background nor the proficiency to be a one-man startup success story. I've learned MySQL, PHP, Javascript, jQuery, Laravel, HTML, CSS, some Python, and a lot about general computing. I'm an excellent typer, and I'm savvy with most tech. I have a variety of skills that involve computers, counseling, writing, and critical thinking.

I'm writing this because I feel like I'm telling myself a story that I'm not currently hirable. I read job requirements, and I feel like most startups or tech companies would choose someone with a computer science degree or more legitimate programming skills. I tell myself that I can't get a job as a counselor since I don't have a Masters degree. I also feel like my limited references (having worked for myself the last 3 years) will hold me back from getting any position that pays over 40k a year.

The frustration here is that I am extremely valuable to many companies, but without a strong résumé, I figure I'll be glossed over for a stronger on-paper candidate. I'm a fast learner, very resourceful, and I'm great with optimization. I love improving methods and systems to produce greater efficiency and effectiveness.

I can also move to anywhere in the USA, and I currently have enough money saved up to relocate immediately.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

I access Hacker News via Tor Browser, and while I understand the need to protect against spam, I wish I didn't have to allow Google javascript. What are your thoughts on this? Is there any way to avoid using Google for this? Also, just throwing my experience out there, but in order to access this submission form, even after enabling Google scripts, I had to complete 6 correctly filled captcha codes. I know they were correct because all of them were clear address numbers of lengths 3 or 4.

Tor is being recommended as the primary browser for normal internet users. When should normal users not use Tor? Should it always be used with a VPN? Should normal users use a different browser when accessing personal accounts (banks, email, shopping)? What are the problems with using Tor as my only browser?