Dunno if this violates rule 3 but here I go: I am a 21 year old male currently living with a family member, I only have a DL and a High School Diploma and nothing else. I’m in the deep south so trade unions are hard to get into. I have a disqualifying condition so I can’t join the military. Getting a job is difficult because they never respond. Question in title.
You’re facing an extra tough time right now because computing has optimized the hiring process so much, it’s difficult to get your foot in the door, and geopolitics are complicating things.
You’ll need to keep in mind that 21 is still quite early in your life, and the world and pop culture really pushes an “instant success” mindset that sets all the wrong expectations.
You’ll need to do several things, unfortunately all at once. First, deeply understand personal finances. Understand that you need to “pay yourself first” (savings/investments) and then what’s left over is what you have to manage expenses and debts. If you keep yourself out of debt you’re better off. Bogleheads Wiki changed the way I viewed my money: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Main_Page
You’re going to have to continue school. You need an Associate’s at a minimum. Go to a public community or municipal college. With an AA from here, most states will grant you automatic admission to public state universities. Research this. Regardless of what your views are on the utility of college degrees, you have to play the game. A college degree is a clearing house to larger companies. Trade school, is another option.
You’re going to have to work, to finance your costs of living plus your education investments, unless you’ve got someone or some financial instruments which let you focus on school.
With respect to college specifically, you’ll get out of it what you put in. Many folks will say it’s a waste, that “they didn’t learn anything new” while they went through. Well, that just signals to me they phoned it in; maybe they got lucky and got a break on their job, too.
From there, you’ll have your personal finances on lock, and one or two degrees (AA and a BA, and maybe a certificate or two) and you’ll be much more competitive.
The real game changer after all this is networking. The saying goes: It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. The best jobs don’t get posted to corporate websites, or if they do, they’re posted for labor law compliance and they already have a candidate in mind. Become a master at socializing (≠ partying), hint: it’s mostly just listening to other people.
It takes time. Be patient. Stay focused. You’ll get there.
I’m going to second the college info. My ex phoned his CS degree in and didn’t have anything to show for his skills when it came time to find a job.
I hustled, kept my grades up, and was honest with my professors when I didn’t understand something. I got an internship across the country and as soon as I came back the main professor for my major helped get me two more internships while he also helped try to find me connections with his old jobs. I know I’m not the only one he did this with.
But now I’ve been working for a unionized job with my degree for 4 years and am climbing up the ladders.
Put in effort and try to be your honest self and it raises your chances of things working out.