It's probably a me thing but 2020 really ruined my life forever while job hunting. I was lucky enough to get a job in my field as soon as I graduated in 2020 but had to leave a year later for family reasons. Ever since then I have been applying for any and everything related to my field (or close too it) and have gotten nothing. I've heard reasons from people that I just had to wait till covid ended, or to do more free internships or etc. I still applied anyway but little to no responses as time went on.
Now if I EVER hear back from a company their reason is that I've been out of the game too long (not exact words but that's how I interpreted it). Why give me a chance when I couldn't get a job with my degree before instead of a new grad who has the information more freshly in their head and is now younger and more willing?
I used to love my degree, it was my only passion in life, and I couldn't see myself doing anything else besides that. I worked so hard keep up so I don't lag behind but I companies won't even let me prove myself to them that I still got what it takes. But now it's been so long of just radio silence that my motivation has vanished. I might even hate it at this point. Why did I spend over a decade (started in HS) learning and pushing for this if I can't even work for free at some places for experience or to, "get my foot in the door"?
At this point I'm not really looking for advice on what to try next since I've tried just about all of them. Just wanted to get this off my chest at how messed up the pandemic was to some.