It can be hard, yes. I would look into research assistant roles at large universities. They will be forgiving of a gap year, they routinely take on people that

It can be hard, yes. I would look into research assistant roles at large universities. They will be forgiving of a gap year, they routinely take on people that want to use the role to get recommendation letters for MBA, MA, or PhD work. So more school will be an option for you. You can also use university research roles as stepping stones to normal industry jobs. You will be on-campus and university-affiliated so more likely to network with a recruiter who works with the university scene.