I don't believe that "unemployed" in this sense means "without paycheck." I considered myself unemployed after graduating from college because I was making my money by catering. Not exactly why I went to college...
So, with that interpretation; I was making barely enough to pay what little bills I had, I was able to do one of the things on Seth's list: I taught myself HTML, CSS, Javascript, SQL, and PHP. I built a couple simple DB driven websites for a friend's band. I then started messing around with the Asterisk PBX and foolishly tried to sell one to a company in the area and fortunately was saved a lot of pain and was hired by them instead.
The whole time I was told that I should be trying to get this type of job or the other, but I was dead-set on ending up in doing something technology-based. I think it was a good 18 months before that happened.
I don't think Seth is saying anything revolutionary. A piece of paper alone doesn't make your a good hire. If they aren't biting with what you have, then work on making it into what they want to see. Over simply; stop wallowing, get over any feelings of entitlement that may be lingering, and do something productive.
You have an awesome point here and an excellent story.
One thing that Seth does not mention that may be worth considering is actual grad school. It is true that a master's will never replace experience, but it can help you get interviews and stand out in a stack of resumes. Certifications also help if you are interested in tech.
A certification will never get you a job (certainly not one you would really want), but it can help you get interviews. I say this as someone that was told point blank I got one of my earlier job interviews because of my certifications when I was starting out and who later used them to help weed out stacks of resumes when they were on my desk.
So, with that interpretation; I was making barely enough to pay what little bills I had, I was able to do one of the things on Seth's list: I taught myself HTML, CSS, Javascript, SQL, and PHP. I built a couple simple DB driven websites for a friend's band. I then started messing around with the Asterisk PBX and foolishly tried to sell one to a company in the area and fortunately was saved a lot of pain and was hired by them instead.
The whole time I was told that I should be trying to get this type of job or the other, but I was dead-set on ending up in doing something technology-based. I think it was a good 18 months before that happened.
I don't think Seth is saying anything revolutionary. A piece of paper alone doesn't make your a good hire. If they aren't biting with what you have, then work on making it into what they want to see. Over simply; stop wallowing, get over any feelings of entitlement that may be lingering, and do something productive.