So hello /r/PersonalFinance!
I've been reading through a number of threads and have seen you as a community have been able to suggest a lot of valuable advice, I figured it was time to open myself up to the knowledge/collective experience of the community.
Let me start off with some background...
I'm 26 years old, fresh out of a coding bootcamp done abroad, struggling to find my first job or internship and reconsidering going back to school for either IT or CS. I hold an A.S in a degree from a local college that was good for transferring, but bares no weight on anything outside of academia. I have never taken a loan, coasted on the good graces of my parents, foreign military service, some savings for school and a long string of part time jobs and internships.
What am I looking for exactly? A bit of a strong suggestion what to do next.
My last few months... I finished a longer coding bootcamp (5 months) just at the end of March and have been applying ever since then. I've struggled to even get interviews (only having managed to get a handful) and nary response email. I have taken this to heart. The rejections have usually carried the same tone "We are looking for someone with a bit more experience." A frustrating sentence, even if the position is for entry/junior levels. With these rejections building up, I have been thinking about moving back (America, New Jersey) and applying to a local university to help build myself up with said experience.
What stands in my way?
Loans, financial aid, the entire college funding song and dance. I never had to do these things before and I can't imagine how much help I can get. I figured now that at 26, I am an independent (tax-wise) so that could in theory lend a sizable (not sure what to expect, my friend group has been pretty mixed with their experiences) amount of aid. I have also prided myself on not having to have taken a loan, but how in the world do I go about it?
Financially I can be supported by either of my parents in the form of having a place to live, making commuting to the university an attractive option. (Assuming I can get accepted and be taken in as a junior).
I would however throw all of this out the window IF I were to find a job in programming, while also picking up a degree from an online college (a different ball game all together) in my off time.
Tl;dr I'm 26, broke, struggling to find work in programming, thinking about going back to school but never had to do all the craziness for financial aid before. Halp?
So what say you, /r/personalfinance? Do I have a shot at anything? Maybe someone knows something that I am missing?
Thank you very much in advance for your time. I have been losing sleep, the ability to eat and stressing out over all of this for the last few weeks.
Edit**: Typo
Submitted June 05, 2017 at 08:03AM by therealmandusa http://ift.tt/2qXljnf
