[dragon13]

Sometimes I wonder what's the point of getting good. Countless machines rooted, flags captured, sleepless nights chasing shells and privilege escalations… I’ve walked through firewalls like paper, danced with persistence, bypassed the toughest defenses. And still — nothing. No job. No money. Just emptiness and a terminal full of skills the world doesn’t seem to value. It’s hard to keep pushing when reality hits harder than any buffer overflow. Maybe all this will vanish soon — because passion alone doesn’t pay rent.

[Jurak]

Its why a lot of people turn into extortion and selling data/access. Sometimes you're left with no choice.

[k1083]

You can get paid to teach what you know, make videos, do some mini course, if you're really good at this, try playing Hackerone or similar.

[0_aaron_0]

Get some general tech certificates for like networking. Something that employers trust bc CTFs usually have writeups so they seem pointless. I know that the practical knowledge is what really counts but passing theoretical exams and getting those certificates might help.