Just Get A Programming Job

There is a lot of uncertainty in the economy these days, and even the moneymakers (central bankers) do not seem to know when things would look great again. Jobs are not aplenty, and there is a huge focus on skills. The usual place where youngsters hide in scenarios like this - college - is too expensive as well. So here are the requirements:

1. It should pay well so you don't have to worry about the bills (which seem to have been on an uptrend these days)
2. It should be something you would even pay for. Which means that there should be a big element of education involved in the job: basically you should be building some skills.
3. It should be a set of skills that is in demand, and will continue to do so for the next 8-10 years.
4. Every additional day you work should have at least additive (ideally multiplicative) effect on your skills.
5. The atomic unit of your work should be some form of problem solving.

Just get a programming job. Forget the 'learn to code' videos, the demand for this skill is not going away anytime soon.