u/Background_Pop4321

I’m 27 years old, and I feel like I’ve completely hit a wall in life. I need some brutal honesty and practical advice.

My background: I only have my 12th-grade certificate (passed in 2018). I enrolled in a BBA program but dropped out in my 5th semester during COVID because I completely lost interest. I took a year off, and in 2022, I incorporated my own tech startup hoping to get government seed funding. I spent two years grinding on ideas, but I never got funded. The company is now dormant.

During that time, I taught myself how to build things. But here is the catch, and the reason I feel like a complete fraud: I use AI to code. Without AI, I feel useless. I can’t call myself a genuine software engineer because AI holds my hand through all of it.

Even so, using AI, I have actually built and deployed a lot of things:

• Published 4 Android apps (2 games, 2 utilities) on the Google Play Store using React Native and TypeScript.
• Built a custom Vanilla JS visual novel game engine with DOM manipulation, and published a 10-chapter demo on Itch.io.
• Developed a full-stack platform called "New Democracy" (Next.js, Supabase, Cloudflare DNS/Storage) with proper Role-Based Access Control and authentication, meant to connect citizens with local officials.
• Built 7 or 8 HTML5 video processing tools to trim, edit, and burn subtitles into videos.

Despite building all of this, I am completely locked out of the job market. I’ve sent out over 250 resumes. I haven't received a single callback or interview. I’m pretty sure HR and their automated systems just see "12th Pass / BBA Dropout" and throw my resume in the trash immediately.

I’m 27 now, I have zero income, and my family needs me to step up and take care of them. I can't waste time chasing startup dreams anymore. I've been looking into basic 12th-pass jobs, but:

• I am a massive introvert, so sales and BPO/telecalling are a nightmare for me.
• I don't own a vehicle, so food/package delivery is out.
• Freelancing feels like a jungle, and getting clients is incredibly tough for me.
• I'm willing to do basic data entry or back-office work just to survive right now.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is there any way to monetize my weird "AI-assisted tech product manager" skillset without a degree? Are there specific remote jobs, niches, or offline roles I should be targeting that don't care about a college degree but need someone who knows how to make computers do what they want?

Any advice—harsh or helpful—is appreciated. I just need a path forward.

I’m 27 years old, and I feel like I’ve completely hit a wall in life. I need some brutal honesty and practical advice.

My background: I only have my 12th-grade certificate (passed in 2018). I enrolled in a BBA program but dropped out in my 5th semester during COVID because I completely lost interest. I took a year off, and in 2022, I incorporated my own tech startup hoping to get government seed funding. I spent two years grinding on ideas, but I never got funded. The company is now dormant.

During that time, I taught myself how to build things. But here is the catch, and the reason I feel like a complete fraud: I use AI to code. Without AI, I feel useless. I can’t call myself a genuine software engineer because AI holds my hand through all of it.

Even so, using AI, I have actually built and deployed a lot of things:

• Published 4 Android apps (2 games, 2 utilities) on the Google Play Store using React Native and TypeScript.
• Built a custom Vanilla JS visual novel game engine with DOM manipulation, and published a 10-chapter demo on Itch.io.
• Developed a full-stack platform called "New Democracy" (Next.js, Supabase, Cloudflare DNS/Storage) with proper Role-Based Access Control and authentication, meant to connect citizens with local officials.
• Built 7 or 8 HTML5 video processing tools to trim, edit, and burn subtitles into videos.

Despite building all of this, I am completely locked out of the job market. I’ve sent out over 250 resumes. I haven't received a single callback or interview. I’m pretty sure HR and their automated systems just see "12th Pass / BBA Dropout" and throw my resume in the trash immediately.

I’m 27 now, I have zero income, and my family needs me to step up and take care of them. I can't waste time chasing startup dreams anymore. I've been looking into basic 12th-pass jobs, but:

• I am a massive introvert, so sales and BPO/telecalling are a nightmare for me.
• I don't own a vehicle, so food/package delivery is out.
• Freelancing feels like a jungle, and getting clients is incredibly tough for me.
• I'm willing to do basic data entry or back-office work just to survive right now.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is there any way to monetize my weird "AI-assisted tech product manager" skillset without a degree? Are there specific remote jobs, niches, or offline roles I should be targeting that don't care about a college degree but need someone who knows how to make computers do what they want?

Any advice—harsh or helpful—is appreciated. I just need a path forward.

I’m 27 years old, and I feel like I’ve completely hit a wall in life. I need some brutal honesty and practical advice.

My background: I only have my 12th-grade certificate (passed in 2018). I enrolled in a BBA program but dropped out in my 5th semester during COVID because I completely lost interest. I took a year off, and in 2022, I incorporated my own tech startup hoping to get government seed funding. I spent two years grinding on ideas, but I never got funded. The company is now dormant.

During that time, I taught myself how to build things. But here is the catch, and the reason I feel like a complete fraud: I use AI to code. Without AI, I feel useless. I can’t call myself a genuine software engineer because AI holds my hand through all of it.

Even so, using AI, I have actually built and deployed a lot of things:

• Published 4 Android apps (2 games, 2 utilities) on the Google Play Store using React Native and TypeScript.
• Built a custom Vanilla JS visual novel game engine with DOM manipulation, and published a 10-chapter demo on Itch.io.
• Developed a full-stack platform called "New Democracy" (Next.js, Supabase, Cloudflare DNS/Storage) with proper Role-Based Access Control and authentication, meant to connect citizens with local officials.
• Built 7 or 8 HTML5 video processing tools to trim, edit, and burn subtitles into videos.

Despite building all of this, I am completely locked out of the job market. I’ve sent out over 250 resumes. I haven't received a single callback or interview. I’m pretty sure HR and their automated systems just see "12th Pass / BBA Dropout" and throw my resume in the trash immediately.

I’m 27 now, I have zero income, and my family needs me to step up and take care of them. I can't waste time chasing startup dreams anymore. I've been looking into basic 12th-pass jobs, but:

• I am a massive introvert, so sales and BPO/telecalling are a nightmare for me.
• I don't own a vehicle, so food/package delivery is out.
• Freelancing feels like a jungle, and getting clients is incredibly tough for me.
• I'm willing to do basic data entry or back-office work just to survive right now.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is there any way to monetize my weird "AI-assisted tech product manager" skillset without a degree? Are there specific remote jobs, niches, or offline roles I should be targeting that don't care about a college degree but need someone who knows how to make computers do what they want?

Any advice—harsh or helpful—is appreciated. I just need a path forward.

Demo Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCwSnTPAwJA

https://preview.redd.it/rgp7o42fdd0h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=9802ca52054eb67e5151ab1cfe3654d8a094b806

I’ve been working on a browser-based visual novel called That Time My School Was Invaded by Dimensional Snakes and Now I'm Bound to a Multiverse Protector! and recently released the first 10 chapters publicly on itch.io.

Instead of just posting the game, I wanted to share some of the development decisions behind it since a lot of the project ended up becoming an engine/programming challenge too.

The game starts as a survival horror scenario inside a school under attack by giant snakes, but gradually shifts into something more psychological and interdimensional. One of the main systems is a hidden “Resolve” mechanic where small choices throughout the story quietly affect character survival outcomes later on. I intentionally avoided visible relationship meters or morality systems because I wanted choices to feel uncertain and more natural.

A big part of development was building the entire VN engine myself in vanilla JavaScript without frameworks. I mainly did this because I wanted complete control over dialogue flow, event handling, save structures, layered sprite behavior, and branching conditions without fighting an existing engine’s architecture.

Some things that were unexpectedly difficult:

- Managing complex branching dialogue while keeping scenes maintainable

- Building a save system that could track hidden long-term flags cleanly

- Handling layered visuals/transitions efficiently in browser

- Keeping pacing consistent across routes with different choice paths

- Preventing the codebase from turning into unreadable spaghetti as chapters increased

The browser-first approach was also intentional since I wanted players to instantly start without downloads.

The project is still in development, but the current build contains 10 chapters and is long enough to test the core mechanics, tone, and story structure.

Would appreciate feedback from other devs, especially regarding:

- pacing

- hidden choice systems

- browser VN performance

- structuring branching narratives without losing maintainability

Playable here:

https://hudarashi.itch.io/vn-dimensional-snakes

Demo Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCwSnTPAwJA

https://preview.redd.it/e6lxmyb0gd0h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=bef6d802e76c7daf6fa82f28d6da3a65734b1bd5

I’ve been working on a browser-based visual novel called That Time My School Was Invaded by Dimensional Snakes and Now I'm Bound to a Multiverse Protector! and recently released the first 10 chapters publicly on itch.io.

Instead of just posting the game, I wanted to share some of the development decisions behind it since a lot of the project ended up becoming an engine/programming challenge too.

The game starts as a survival horror scenario inside a school under attack by giant snakes, but gradually shifts into something more psychological and interdimensional. One of the main systems is a hidden “Resolve” mechanic where small choices throughout the story quietly affect character survival outcomes later on. I intentionally avoided visible relationship meters or morality systems because I wanted choices to feel uncertain and more natural.

A big part of development was building the entire VN engine myself in vanilla JavaScript without frameworks. I mainly did this because I wanted complete control over dialogue flow, event handling, save structures, layered sprite behavior, and branching conditions without fighting an existing engine’s architecture.

Some things that were unexpectedly difficult:

- Managing complex branching dialogue while keeping scenes maintainable

- Building a save system that could track hidden long-term flags cleanly

- Handling layered visuals/transitions efficiently in browser

- Keeping pacing consistent across routes with different choice paths

- Preventing the codebase from turning into unreadable spaghetti as chapters increased

The browser-first approach was also intentional since I wanted players to instantly start without downloads.

The project is still in development, but the current build contains 10 chapters and is long enough to test the core mechanics, tone, and story structure.

Would appreciate feedback from other devs, especially regarding:

- pacing

- hidden choice systems

- browser VN performance

- structuring branching narratives without losing maintainability

Playable here:

https://hudarashi.itch.io/vn-dimensional-snakes

Demo Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCwSnTPAwJA

https://preview.redd.it/rgp7o42fdd0h1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=9802ca52054eb67e5151ab1cfe3654d8a094b806

I’ve been working on a browser-based visual novel called That Time My School Was Invaded by Dimensional Snakes and Now I'm Bound to a Multiverse Protector! and recently released the first 10 chapters publicly on itch.io.

Instead of just posting the game, I wanted to share some of the development decisions behind it since a lot of the project ended up becoming an engine/programming challenge too.

The game starts as a survival horror scenario inside a school under attack by giant snakes, but gradually shifts into something more psychological and interdimensional. One of the main systems is a hidden “Resolve” mechanic where small choices throughout the story quietly affect character survival outcomes later on. I intentionally avoided visible relationship meters or morality systems because I wanted choices to feel uncertain and more natural.

A big part of development was building the entire VN engine myself in vanilla JavaScript without frameworks. I mainly did this because I wanted complete control over dialogue flow, event handling, save structures, layered sprite behavior, and branching conditions without fighting an existing engine’s architecture.

Some things that were unexpectedly difficult:

- Managing complex branching dialogue while keeping scenes maintainable

- Building a save system that could track hidden long-term flags cleanly

- Handling layered visuals/transitions efficiently in browser

- Keeping pacing consistent across routes with different choice paths

- Preventing the codebase from turning into unreadable spaghetti as chapters increased

The browser-first approach was also intentional since I wanted players to instantly start without downloads.

The project is still in development, but the current build contains 10 chapters and is long enough to test the core mechanics, tone, and story structure.

Would appreciate feedback from other devs, especially regarding:

- pacing

- hidden choice systems

- browser VN performance

- structuring branching narratives without losing maintainability

Playable here:

https://hudarashi.itch.io/vn-dimensional-snakes

The game is called "That Time My School Was Invaded by Dimensional Snakes and Now I'm Bound to a Multiverse Protector!" — yes the title is intentionally that long.

It's a survival horror / cosmic thriller visual novel. Starts grounded (trapped in a school with giant snakes) and gets progressively more philosophical and interdimensional.

Features a hidden Resolve system that tracks small human moments throughout and determines character fates at the end — no explicit relationship meters.

Built a custom browser-based engine in vanilla JS with no frameworks. Fully playable in browser, no download needed.

10 chapters are up, still in development. Would love feedback from anyone who plays it.