Alternatively, instead of passively ingesting information in the hopes that it will be useful to you, as soon as you decided you wanted to get a programming job

Alternatively, instead of passively ingesting information in the hopes that it will be useful to you, as soon as you decided you wanted to get a programming job you could have done a quick google search to learn about the state of the industry. I believe that improving your ability to think critically and find information quickly when you need it will benefit you infinitely more than spending that time on watching the news.