Ask HN: I feel both valuable and worthless
For the past few years I've been applying to programming jobs, but I just can't get any interviews. I'm guessing this is because I don't have formal education nor do I have relevant work experience. If there was a cookie cutter for Joe Developer, I just don't fit.
My second thought was to start a company/side hustle of my own. Over the past year or two I've done a small amount of this and made a profit thus far, but I'm definitely more passionate about making things than sales or running a business. It doesn't help that all my interests are in bad markets, like games.
This leaves me with a very uncomfortable feeling, where I feel confident that I can create things, but nervous that the final result will earn nothing and be a huge waste of time. I feel like an obscure fine artist, who can paint a beautiful scene but will die in poverty because nobody cares about owning it. And I do love "painting", but I have bills to pay.
If I was sitting on a wad of cash, I'd probably feel better about this. But with my lack of funds, I don't know what to do. Companies don't want me, and the path to self employment feels like a risky grind. And yet, I still want to write code. Is there any advice for someone like me?