I am wondering what are the chances of a career shifter (mid 20's), who have maybe 3-6 months programming experience vs. younger fresh IT/Com Sci graduates. You see, even though I really love programming (Java/J2EE), but nobody gives me a feedback when I apply online. maybe because they preferred IT/ComSci graduates vs a career shifter like me.. So can you advice on how to improve my chance on being hired. How can i get a real-job programming experince if nobody is hiring me. I can make my own projects (working e-commerce site blah blah) but it is still different from the real job. And my codes are working but it still needs a lot of improvement and no one can tell me how to improve it because no one sees it (because I'm doing it alone?). Do you know any open source websites (java/j2ee/jee) / online home-based jobs who accepts java/j2ee/jee trainees.. Thank you very much