Oh golly wow! I was so naive!
I left JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) with nuthin but two weeks' savings and high hopes. I advertised that I was available and waited. Oh my goodness! Fortunately, some friends gave me leads and I discovered I had to go find work. I learned it, but I never got the hang of it.
And I was not very good at selling myself. I thought all I had to do was look programmerly and sound earnest. All I had to do was present my credentials. One potential customer actually laughed at me. But then he apologized and told me I had to hone my selling skills.
Sigh. Hard to hone what you ain't got.
I don't remember how they happened, but I got this job and I got that job and I slowly went broke.
And when I'd finally had enough mortification, I went out and found another job, programming for an insurance company.
It's no wonder I can't remember how many years that took. Too many.