I can attest that getting a job today is tough, but having 25 years of experience is outlasting a Masters degree.
I graduated from college in 1991 in Mechanical Engineering. I couldn’t find a job immediately. Did whatever jobs I could get including temp agency jobs. Got first job in aerospace, lasted about a year before they laid off everybody. Didn’t find anything again for a while so did whatever work I could get. (Part of this is because I was in no way ever going back to California PERIOD). Then I found a semi-intern position for a manufacturing plant 100 miles from the nearest town in the middle of the Nevada desert. Took it, worked up to regular plant engineer, then got hired on to the corporate office as an engineer, and now I’m a senior engineer. The point of story is you get whatever work you can get, move to where you have to, and take the first opportunity you can get. I started my career as an already graduated “intern” with some experience at a starting wage less than half of what a normal engineer would expect. I had increased my salary starting salary by almost an order of magnitude after the first 15 years.