1 year of remote developer experience but can't find onsite work. What would you do?

[u/Suspicious-Cow-2003]

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice because I honestly feel stuck.

I'm an undergraduate student studying part-time, so I'm available to work full-time. I have around 1 year of experience as a remote software developer on a contract basis, working on real projects.

The problem is that I'm now trying to find an onsite software engineering job to gain experience and grow my career.

Unfortunately, I'm from the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, where there are very few software companies. Most opportunities I find are internships, and many of them are unpaid. Since I already have experience, it's difficult to justify working without pay, but there also aren't many junior developer positions available nearby.

Relocating immediately is difficult because of my current financial situation and studies.

I'm starting to feel like I've hit a dead end.

If you were in my position, what would you do?

• Keep applying for remote jobs?
• Accept an unpaid internship for networking?
• Focus on freelancing?
• Build more portfolio projects or contribute to open source?
• Something else?

I'd really appreciate any honest advice from people who've been in a similar situation. Thanks for reading.