[fxtentacle]

Instead of leetcode, I would try doing actual small jobs on upwork.com

First, it will earn you some additional money. But much more importantly, after a while you can confidently state that you have experience solving issues that companies are willing to pay for. And that's what hiring managers like to see/hear.

Just keep in mind that the non-US competition on most of those remote job sites is pretty fierce. Expect to be slightly underpaid. That said, once you get the hang of it, applying to an actual in-office job is probably easier than negotiating a well-paid fully remote Upwork project. So it will be great training for your written negotiation skills.

[em-bee]

i am doing neither, because i find the effort i need to put in to find work is already taking all the time i have available, and the effort of applying for small jobs on upwork is not in line with the payout. if i have to spend 20 hours to get a 20 hour job for 50$ per hour, then my effective pay is 25$ per hour. i can't live on that.