I'm having a really difficult time trying to land a software developer role, mostly due to my complex work history. I'm in Melbourne, Australia. I'll try to summarise it below as best I can:
Finished my Computer Science degree in early 2011
Late 2011 to early 2017: Software developer at a company where I was mainly working on Java web applications for a major telco.
Early 2017: Quit my job to pursue self-employment in an unrelated field (a secondary passion of mine)
Mid 2017: Stopped working due to an existing chronic illness getting worse.
Mid 2017 to Early 2020: Not working due to illness.
Early 2020 – present: Some upskilling, applying for jobs but otherwise unemployed.
I'm in a really difficult position because my resume doesn't technically reflect the reality of my skills. My upskilling has had to cover numerous areas because of different job requirements and my existing skills aren't anywhere near as strong as they were.
I've tried applying for junior/graduate roles but understandably that hasn't worked because I'm not a graduate.
I've progressed to a coding challenge at a few companies but I've never been able to complete them because my skills still aren't up to scratch. It seems that just upskilling doesn't seem to give me the right skills/mindset to conquer them.
As an alternative solution I've thought about applying for roles in other areas of IT such as support but companies still want prior experience and I also have a severe stutter which would make a support role very difficult.
I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice/tips on possible next steps at this stage? I can continue upskilling but it seems like it isn't very worthwhile at this point.
Thanks all.