Word of advice: don&#x27;t read a lot of HN and Reddit, especially not first thing in the morning. It can leave you feeling burned out and depressed.<p>Do your best to try and apply the things you&#x27;ve learned to your current job, and devote only some of your free time to stay up-to-date with things. Use the rest of your free time on some hobbies. This approach should boost your confidence in your abilities a bit. When the time comes that you feel especially inspired, use this to get into something like a hobby project or explore a new language.<p>Over time, dedication to learning will pay off, but you will also need to cross this barrier and say, &quot;Hello, I&#x27;m Damon, and I&#x27;m actually pretty damn good at this thing.&quot;. A lot of advice on the internet says the best way to strike a good job is to be networked in the valley... as if everyone can just do that. So I feel your pain there, but it&#x27;s still possible to break out if you keep your focus and don&#x27;t let the circumstances get the better of you. You need to believe in yourself and build your self-esteem step by step.<p>So, work on bettering yourself (this includes self-esteem, health), instead of trying to get into &quot;a circle&quot;.