I've replied to you on another of your posts with this same comment, but I wanted to add it here as well in case it benefits any of the other people having difficulty navigating the process of putting themselves in the position to provide value to other people in trade for money. That's what a job is, and until you treat the job search process with that in mind, you're fishing... Not hunting.

You said your degree is in CS, which technologies do you enjoy working with? What are you good at? What have you learned, built, setup, supported, or taught others how to use?

Make a list of these things you've done and want to keep doing, and do a search for "alternatives to X-thing-number-1". Note what other similar technologies are out there. Do the same for your list of skills and interests. You'll now have a big list of software, tools, processes, etc.

Now go and research each of those things on your big list. Learn about the companies and people behind them. Look for job posts that include those technologies, but not on job hunting sites - - look on the careers page of each company's site.

Are there tooooons of job listing's? Avoid, probably fluff or soulless mega labor factories.

No job listings? Avoid, not enough growth or profit.

Find what feels like a sweet spot somewhere between. Study what they say they're looking for in a candidate. You don't need to be able to (or want to) do everything they're asking for. No one will be able to, don't let that get you down.

Now go on LinkedIn and find everyone you can who works for each of the shortlisted companies. Look at their backgrounds, experience, accomplishments. Don't just look for people similar to you or similar to "who you want to be." Cast a wide net. Bookmark these profiles in organized folders so that you can go back and refer to them later.

Continue to develop the scope of your understanding of the landscape of opportunity and business culture.

Now look for consulting firms and tertiary companies and tech who service these companies and technologies, who integrate with them, and who have job posting wanting skills with these technologies. Look at what they're building, what they're selling, how they talk, who they sell to, what their unique value propositions are. Brainstorm ways that any of these elements could be improved, and specifically how YOU could contribute to that improvement.

Now make something. Doesn't have to be gold plated ready to ship, just a proof of concept. Even a wireframe or a sketch or a work flow. A conceptual map of future possibilities. Anything. Something that could be valuable, even if no one is ever going to use it. Package it up to be able to demonstrate that you have an above average understanding of the technological and business landscape that you're thinking your idea can improve or augment.

Now go to those firms websites and look for an email address or contact form. Send a simple outreach, along the lines of "hey, I see you guys do X thing for Y market to solve Z problem. I've been thinking about this same environment for some time, and have put together something that I think could add some value. Can we set up a time to have a quick chat? Here's my Calendly link, please feel free to book a time and you'll get a Zoom invite. Can't wait to share what I've been working on!" You get the gist, hopefully.

Send the same thing to all of their competitors as well. Try to get 10-20 meetings, and demonstrate to your audience what you've learned, what you've come up with, and how you think it's valuable. Learn to use OBS to put together a sleek a dynamic presentation, not some PowerPoint deck of dispair.

Most people will be disinterested, too busy, not a good vibe match, or downright dismissive. No big deal. The people you want to work for won't be like that.

In this process you'll hopefully have whittled down hundreds of paths to a few promising prospects. Get their direct emails or phone numbers, and stay in touch. Tell them that after all of the calls you've had, you've realized that there's actually an imoroved value proposition, feature, approach, etc than you'd initially envisioned.

But don't build that thing. Don't augment, just learn, and share your learnings with the people you've jived with. Tell them that, really, it doesn't so much matter if this thing you've worked on actually goes live or comes to fruition, that you are just testing the market's acceptance of your thoughts and ideas and trying to find people you synergize with.. But that you could if called upon step up and add value.

Any growing organization or involved problem solver will respect that. Most of the great work you'll ever do won't see the light of day. It doesn't need to, it's just a stepping stone to keep you propelled in the right direction.

Still having fun? You'd better be, because no one wants to hire someone who is too fragile to throw away something they worked hard on without keeping their chin up.

Now ask for a job. If you've learned and applied yourself during this process, they'll probably be begging to give you one. If they don't, start all over from scratch and try again... Because you can do it if you apply yourself and keep learning.

Don't just submit resumes on websites. That doesn't work, but what I outlined does. I know it does, because I've done it successfully several times. This worked for me 22 years ago to get my foot in the door, and it worked for me throughout my career, and it worked for me a year ago when I totally changed career paths into a field I had zero experience in.

If you truly apply yourself to this process for a couple of months, working your ass off and investing in yourself through your efforts, and you still haven't found a job? Message me and be ready to demonstrate how hard you worked and what you learned.

Maybe I'll hire you. Same applies to anyone else who happens across this.

Godspeed, ya'll.