Never attempt suicide. Should you fail, you'll just incur new problems-- like mandatory psychiatric holds, brain damage or a failing liver. > every single comp

Never attempt suicide. Should you fail, you'll just incur new problems-- like mandatory psychiatric holds, brain damage or a failing liver. > every single company I applied for, rejected my job application. (Told me that they found a person better qualified than me.) Don't lose hope. The better-qualified candidates you lost out to don't always stay. Sometimes they stick around for a few weeks and bail, having accepted a better offer. > Quit a low-paying C++ job (which was a horrible mistake) You quit for a reason. This was an exploitative situation you were never going to transcend otherwise. Now you have an opportunity to use this time to add value to your existing skillset. Developers still tend to respond with blank stares when anybody mentions software security. Brush up on best practices and remarket yourself as a security-specialized C++ developer, which creates a niche for yourself in which only you are the best candidate. One thing I've learned is that there are never really any "better qualified" people than yourself. Everybody acts like they know what they're talking about, but they are often utterly-incompetent con-artists and degenerates with a knack for showmanship who were able to put on a better performance than you. Don't try to compete on merit or competence alone-- you will always be left in the dust.