[vertex-four]

I have an HNC in Computing from the UK - basically a vocational pre-university qualification. It's not amazingly useful. Shortly after achieving that a lot of mental health stuff popped up which derailed things for a few years, so uni wasn't a thing.

I've been coding for a very long time, and am a polyglot - Python, Go, javascript on both frontend and backend, bash. Current project is largely Go+Python+bash. Previous completed projects were in node.js and Python. A pile of personal and small scale Linux server admin experience to go with that. Nothing professional, unless you count the time I told someone about letsencrypt and they gave me $200.

I've been applying for everything I can find that matches that experience and doesn't have a requirement of "a degree and 5 years commercial experience". In addition, anything cafe-wise that turns up, call center jobs (even though I have severe phone anxiety), anything else that looks vaguely bearable. I have separate CVs per job type, but the fact that I have not had paying work in such a long time is what gets me ignored.

I tried to sign up for the local cycle couriering services here and was denied, apparently I am not fast enough at cycling.

I do not have friends or family who have their own businesses, or who could help me find a role in a business they work for.

[papreclip]

>I do not have friends or family who have their own businesses, or who could help me find a role in a business they work for.

That's rough. When your resume is by default the easiest to reject out of any pile it finds itself in, a personal connection is often what it takes to receive any consideration.

If I were you I would talk to as many people who are in a position to hire as possible. If you see a "now hiring" sign, go in and talk to someone face-to-face. Try to get any 9-5 job you can at first, even if it's grocery store clerk. It will make it a lot easier to convince someone you're a steady hire when something better comes along. I was never homeless but I did have a dead-in-the-water resume at one point with a big work gap. The first jobs I got on my own were seasonal UPS helper and furniture mover. When I got hired into tech it was with months of full-time work experience. My new employer only had to worry about whether I could do the job, and not whether I was capable of holding myself to a 9-5 schedule

I don't know to what extent this squatting stuff is a choice, but I would recommend you abandon any voluntary participation in that lifestyle as soon as possible. You're not going to bootstrap yourself out of homelessness if you're linked arm-in-arm in solidarity with other anarchists, squatters, etc. It's also just not a stable environment.

You should realize that you might personally be ok with working "enough to survive", but that doesn't fit the needs of most employers. Ultimately you have to figure out what an employer's requirements are and meet those, and one of those is almost always going to be "commitment to a working square's existence". A part of this is also convincing them that they won't be hiring your replacement in just a couple months

[tarkin2]

Times are hard. Lie about your background.

Say you worked in a cafe for many years, then learnt programming, then show them some projects you’ve done (simple websites etc) and attempt to get an entry level job. I know many people who found entry level jobs this way.

But let me reiterate what a previous poster said: try to find a church. Offer them IT support. Ask them about their network. They often help the homeless: eating restaurant/cafe food wastage together, giving away clothes donations.

If nothing else, you may find a friendly ear, and people who value community. Your own religious beliefs or lack thereof do not matter.

[klyrs]

You say uni wasn't a thing... could it be? I apologize; I don't know anything about life in the Netherlands (namely how funding and entrance requirements go) but a few years in uni might be a good career reset.

[vertex-four]

Unfortunately not, I don't have the requisite qualifications to actually enter university here.

[clarry]

Not recommending it in this situation but know that there are things like The Open University (http://www.open.ac.uk/) which can get you a tuition without the prerequisite secondary degree.

Also idk about the Netherlands but in Finland there are "open path" routes to polytechnics (and probably universities) that you can attend for a small fee with no other requirements. The trick here is that if you study long enough and accumulate enough ECTS credits, then you may either get directly accepted as a full time student (thus making you eligible for all the usual benefits), or they can let you take the entrance exam and then become a full time student. All this without requiring the secondary degree that you'd normally need to enter.

Just something to keep in mind if you ever want to consider getting a degree.