i so like the distinction you make, SP, between entitlement and having earned something.

maybe things have changed but I thought employers would rather see current employment even if its flipping burgers for minimum wage rather than no employment for a period of time.

I am in a similar position. I thought drinking was preventing my from finding a job. It turns out the economy sucks. I am sober but still unemployed. However I am much older than you with lots of experience. I can get interviews but employers wont hire me because I am too old. You should see the looks I get from HR departments.

Don't consider becoming homeless an option. That's pit that's really hard to dig out of.

It sucks, but it takes a long time for most people to get a good job that makes use of their degree after they graduate, unless they were already doing all the networking while studying. Some degrees are also genuinely not very useful.

Personally, I did 2 years of volunteering in various places related to the degree I took, and then ended up doing something completely different that has nothing to do with my degree.

It's the advantage and disadvantage of our society. More people have access to education, which is perfect, but that means there's more competition and you can't get work for just having a degree. Go back in time 100 years and be born into aristocracy, and maybe that's the case.

It's more important to look into areas that are lacking professionals, and then get trained in that. You've obviously been trained in something there isn't a lot of demand for, so now you need to consider next steps to get trained in something that is in demand.