[lucidmote]

People have no idea. I've done Darpa internships in IT and full stack developer internships in DC, and could have a lucrative career someday, but I'm stuck in this strange pocket of SSDI where I can't afford to return to work for less than $70k and I'm not yet worth that much.

I'm literally better off doing unpaid or minimum wage internships for the indefinite future until I can hit that benchmark.

My programs pay for everything. My food, my power bill, the interest on my student debt. And if I save one cent over $7200, I lose my medical subsidy so I'm constantly having to find inventive ways to spend money. It's a weird problem to have.