Things are much much better if you have a security clearance. If you have a TS, experience with Java, fullstack web, and Angular/React you are super in demand a

Things are much much better if you have a security clearance. If you have a TS, experience with Java, fullstack web, and Angular/React you are super in demand and don’t have to be good at any of it. If you just have a security clearance and high competence with fullstack web you need to know what you are doing well to be competitive but should have no problem landing interviews. These positions are constantly getting candidates for interviews but none of the candidates are competent enough even with consideration for the big stupid frameworks carrying most of your job. Even better is that security clearance positions appear to pay better if you aren’t already making Bay Area money. My learnings: * Applying directly to companies results in a failure to receive a response about 100%. * GitHub repos need to be ridiculously simple or solve a common already solved problem or they are probably doing you more harm than good (scares people away). * If you have a LinkedIn profile ensure it’s fully updated, lists all your credentials, and uses only your legal name. * You stand a vastly superior chance of landing interviews using third party recruiters. They get paid on commission and may not understand the technical considerations of your job but then neither does the client HR or sometimes the hiring manager at the client. That means the job requirements tend to become a qualification checklist. * At some point you have to make a forced decision between dicking around with arbitrary tools/frameworks or continuing to be unemployed. Keep in mind you gain superior competence by not wasting time on the tool nonsense and you need to be more competent than the next guy but you also need enough time with the nonsense to land/pass an interview.