[adamrezich]

Nine months professional experience, over a decade of making websites, web apps, games, and game engines, in a wide variety of languages, frameworks, etc.... but all at an "amateur" level, which is not what hiring departments are looking for right now. I've been making websites since HTML4. In high school (graduated '09), I had a thumbdrive with Portable Notepad++, Firefox, and XAMPP, and I'd work on stuff in the library between classes and during lunch. I've been almost always working on at least one personal project at a time for the past decade, and while none of them are groundbreakingly impressive, my portfolio shows that I know what I'm doing... but that doesn't matter to hiring departments, apparently, because it's not "professional experience".

[wpietri]

You seem to skate past the substance of what I said, which is unfortunate.

Professional experience matters. Plenty of people are amateur cooks, but that doesn't mean they can step into a restaurant and do well. My brother does furniture-making and carpentry for a living, and it's the same thing there. I imagine it's true for most professions. That you can't see a difference does not mean there is no difference.

If you really think you can handle the work, then I'd suggest you apply at places without "hiring departments". Find small companies, where the person you first deal with is the hiring manager. The more people involved in deciding to make an exception, the less likely it is to happen. But you'll have a much larger chance of getting that exception made if you can see yourself through their eyes, which is as a person who's probably going to need a lot of help.

[tomcam]

I've been in your position. I know you're frustrated, but please read the parent post objectively. It is a nonjudging and kind but very fair viewpoint. Humility will help you.