[sdiupIGPWEfh]

Graduated into a recession myself. If you can't get hired right away, the situation only compounds, so buckle up. No one's advice helped. Was eventually told by several internal recruiters at job fairs that companies were loath to hire someone more than 6 months out of college who hadn't found employment in the field. Spent years working unrelated jobs, barely scraping by. My debt ballooned. Talking to anyone online typically ended with being told that the problem must be with me; the market was recovering, so I probably just suck. It's depressing to be an outsider looking to get a break. It's easy to lose confidence in yourself.

It took me years and a lot of luck to claw my way into developer roles. And you know what? It wasn't me. I didn't suck. Life had just dealt me a bad hand (one of several).

Not to say everything is great now. I missed out on years' worth of promotions, investments, and retirement savings. I'll probably never achieve fu money or so much as retire early. But I'm hardly hurting financially nowadays.

Which is all to say, hey, I hear ya. Hang in there.