One thing I'd throw out there is to check out hospitals and medical centers around you. We usually keep a decent supply of programmers and analysts on staff. Could be more enjoyable work while you look for game dev work. Plus not a lot of tech folks think about those places

I think my favorite part is that I can scroll the Discovery feed and it's just really great art and stuff I enjoy seeing lol. Very different experience

It always feels bad when something goes wrong, but it does make an awesome learning opportunity. Just adds to the lovely collection of knowledge you've built up. Nice work on optimizations!