What steps do I need to take to get my life together? (Please see the context)

I'm going to answer this as a Career Counselor and not as a tech expert (because I am not).

First, your resume needs some work. I would highly recommend meeting with a career counselor in your area who can assist you with resume writing. It needs to be shortened and restructured.

Secondly, a good way to gain experience in a field is to volunteer. It may be difficult to find volunteering in that field so you'll need to get creative and network!

Third, your experiences are valid. Sure they may not have been your ideal work experiences, but they will shine and a resume expert can help you with that. Don't forget that you can also get your foot in the door with companies you are interested in by applying for lower level positions and working yourself up.

Lastly, I highly recommend meeting with staffing companies and recruiters. They can greatly assist you and help you make contact with employers.

Honestly .. I'm not really sure how to approach this.

If you like the career path for the major you received at DeVry University, reach out to them to see if there is some type of alumni assistance.

Also, your post reads as if you are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. That seems to be an up and coming mecca with respect to IT jobs.

Also, since it has been a few years and your degree is technology based, it may not hurt for a refresher or certification program that promotes job placement. Nowadays, The big trends seem to be network security and anything cloud'ish.

Good Luck.

Hi there,

Taking a few courses isn't a bad idea to help refresh your skill set and learn new technicalities if this is the field that you want to go into. I bet there are classes available online for this.

Try to leverage any connections that you may already have of friends or family to help get your foot in the door at a potential new job opportunity. If none are available, try going to networking events or getting involved in the tech community wherever you are somehow (try going to "Meetups" website and see if there are any relevant community meetings or workshops.

You mentioned that you like to draw and use photo shop - maybe its worth exploring digital media or web design or digital advertising or something to insert creativity into your career.

Good luck!

Your work towards enhancing your skills in IT programming can definitely shape your career. There are a lot of job opportunities out there in the software programming and information technology area. Continue to work on that, and look for some internship opportunities which could help you with real time experience.

Read resume tips on job portals such as monster.com and careerbuilder.com. Make sure your resume is crisp, concise, adequately covers your key skills and expertise.

All the best!

Victor,

The others seem to have covered it pretty well.
I just want to point out that I am pretty sure the "E" in ETD stands for "explosive," not "error."

Hi,

I think the big secret about technology related jobs is that what really differentiates you from the competition may not be the technical skills.. it's your business skills. Do you understand the business you are enabling through technology? Do you listen to the needs of the customer well enough to put those skills to use?

If you have a firm grasp on those areas, the IT jobs will be much easier to land. There will always be a new technology to learn and there are plenty of resources to keep those skills sharp.. But what really can impress a hiring manager and change your 30's is if you can listen to the business, figure out what they need and use your skills to meet that need. That's value. Best of luck!

Hi Victor,

It seems that you are more inclined towards software development as you are honing this skill on your own, although working in other area. This itself shows that you are passionate about programming.

Ask yourself: Are you passionate of programming? Would you do this extra hours if you had time? If so, then you should go ahead with programming. User experience in Digital world is one area where you can exploit your skills of photoshop, drawing, javascript. Note that Digital Innovation is going on everywhere.

Learn about the digital transformations happening and how user experience is driving those.

Good luck! Hope this helps. Let me know how you move forward.

Steps to improve your life.
1. Self-reflection and mentorship:
You did everything in your 20’s people told you to do to be successful. Great, now you have a bunch of skills and knowledge that you can’t find anyone to put to use. First thing, sit down and look at your life, your friends, your family and eliminate contact with the things and people that are not benefiting you. This doesn’t mean you walk away from your current life but it might mean that you need to find a few new friends.
Finding a mentor may be more difficult. Lucky for you they have career and even life coaches who can help you find someone to get you that goal. Get lots of opinions, and information but remember the choice of your next move is up to you. Don’t be a jellyfish and feel free to be entirely selfish in your choices. After all it’s your future and no one else’s.
2. Be nice:
It sounds silly but people like nice people. If you’re the guy who is constantly complaining or never seems to be satisfied at work it will show. Now think about it; for a lot of people 80 percent of the people they meet each day are at their job. Do you really want 80 percent of the people you meet to think “this guy complains a lot!”
Additionally being nice generally makes you less stressed and feel better about yourself. Which I can say from experience is something everyone who is underemployed needs a bit more of.
3. Leave your comfort zone:
If you have a routine break it. Join local groups and associations that are in your career friend or interest. If you want to be in management, toastmasters can up with public speaking and presentation fears. If you want to work in an engineering or environmental field perhaps volunteering for the Parks Department Committee or Conservation Committee in your hometown will get you seen by a number of employers. It is all about networking and meeting people.
4. Take the attitude that “There is no shame in your game!”:
Talk to everyone. Don’t get personal just stress that you are looking to move onward and upward and that you’re not afraid to start at the bottom. Of course the bottom with your degrees isn’t normally sweeping floor or cleaning the break room but if you're the new guy at a company with only two other electronics engineers who have been there for a decade, taking out the trash is a small price to pay for the experience and education that you’re getting.
5. Be humble:
To many want to point out what they did. This is great in an interview but understanding that it’s the team's efforts that brings home the goal is the best way to build lasting friends and committed colleagues.

Hi Victor,

Let's first start with what might seem to be a little Brutal response to our humble question.

Your question seems to show that you have developed a rather meek opinion of yourself. It maybe even reflects some sort of under-confident state of mind you might be in. God forbid, you might be thinking of giving up.

Tackle that!! remove that thought! You are NEVER done!

It's never too early for anything, it's never too late for anything!! Leave everyone else, have faith in yourself. Only then anything else will matter.

Now, coming to the point where we can perhaps discuss the other parts. Your resume shows that you do have enough hands-on and experience with many tools and different Job experience. Use that.

If you say that your life hasn't been what you wanted then we need to figure out what you want. And that's not an easy answer friend.

I keep telling people, if you don't know what you want to do. Start by crossing-out what you definitely don't want to do. Make a list of what doesn't sound bad. As negative as it may sound, it will bring a smile to your face. Be cautious though, don't tend to compromise.

Once you at least have a track to follow or a choice between two or plenty, you can start with contacting people who already are in those roles/field. Start with your alumni. Get in touch with people over Social Network. Forget being shy about it.

Ask people what type of life do they live while they do what they do. Try to filter what you learn from them. 'Learn from everyone, follow no-one'.

Try grooming yourself in the particular field you shortlist by taking a course or internship; whatever suits you. And then step up to the interview you would've realised by then that you always wanted.

Don't give up on that Saxophone. Ever!

Be with people who have faith in you, but make sure they keep egging you, boosting you, rebuking you if you get tired.

There's always light at the end of tunnel. Always :)