Bridging the gaps of networking toward jobs, I would entertain LinkedIn for a "sense of whats out there" and to potentially take on a contract with a recruiter.

Bridging the gaps of networking toward jobs, I would entertain LinkedIn for a "sense of whats out there" and to potentially take on a contract with a recruiter. Many of the LI-type recruiters are going to be a fair place to try out your skillset fit and get a foot in the community in a real way, albeit with a strange middleman, just instead of paying Madagascar-starting-wages they pay US-starting-wages.