Of course, how would they know if you don’t list any? Oh, that’s right, PRISM. Fully expect that people who don’t have social media accounts to get accused of having them simply because someone else shares the same name and did say First Amendment protected stuff, like Donald Trump is a terrible fucking president and should be impeached.

Sorry person with the last name Erdude. I guess you aren’t getting into the US now.

Like they’ll test me on frameworks or ask me some very archaic questions which is just so frustrating to get through like I haven’t had that much experience that they’re demanding from me even in entry level positions it’s been like that.

Unfortunately, there is probably someone in the same boat as you but has a passion for the field and is able to answer all of their tricky questions. Be the best at what you do. Did you immediately go home after these interviews and study everything they asked that you didn’t know? As an early career technologist, you’ll need to put in a lot of hours studying and applying knowledge. You’re at a disadvantage because you need to prove to them that you will add value to their organization. A CS degree isn’t enough. I’ve interviewed and rejected plenty of MS degree holders too. What matters is demonstrated ability. If you’ve not setup a portfolio of personal projects, or contributions to FOSS, you need to do that. And I’m not talking about vibe coded slop, but your own blood, sweat, and tears. That will demonstrate practical skill. Getting involved in a FOSS community can make a big difference in increasing your network and getting you exposed to others that might be looking for hands. Plus, it is cool and you’ll meet really smart peeps. If you really want to be RIF proof, you need to be really good and have a very good network of people that would love to work with you.

TL;DR: git gud

Many such pieces of software exist both backed by non-profit foundations, and not. Before the Linux kernel was running the world, it was primarily maintained by volunteers. Also consider the myriad of Linux distributions that don’t have corp overlords. Or pick a *BSD. Or anything you watch video content with: ffmpeg, vlc, mpv. Or even various programming languages such as ECMA Script, Python, Ruby, C, C++, etc. Hell, even Lemmy fits into this category. There literally is a whole slew of software not directly backed by money and still maintained that literally runs the world.

Not all software needs to be backed by money. Money helps, of course, and I would support a non-profit financially that is focused purely on browser development. Right now, the only game in town doing that is Ladybird. But honestly, I think building upon a firefox fork makes more sense than starting from scratch.

TIL. Super disappointing. Thanks for the additional info. I’ve changed my mind. Mozilla can just go poof completely.

Mozilla corp is trash and deserves to fail. The non-profit Mozilla however, can remain and steward Firefox and friends just fine.

Why is work so important for you? I think you’ll find that a large number of people simply go through the motions because the stakes are low and their lives outside of work are more interesting. To them, it is an exchange of labor (that isn’t valued anyway) for (not enough) money. Why push yourself at work when it simply doesn’t matter? And what will drive you nuts later is that people from that “lazy” group will eventually end up promoted over you. The work is ultimately inconsequential, but the relationships built matter.

I don’t really have an answer for you other than to introspect a little bit on your work ethic.