I'm unemployed and have been job searching for a while (though I took a recent break due to burnout). Recalling the common questions I get asked like, what tech stacks I have worked on, and then realizing when my experience is far from what they're doing. But, I learned that, sometimes, saying that I am willing to learn these technologies at home can turn a so-so outlook to a good one for the interviewer. I want to learn new techs without it making it seem like I am just "paying my dues" or doing an unpaid trial version to show the companies what I got.

It's become a tricky tightrope to walk with the pro-side of self-learning is that it's necessary to stay attractive in the job market, but one downside is that it can feel like unpaid work because you're unemployed but learning these things for your career, and not for personal enjoyment or passion.

I have no job for which to learn new things on paid time- all my time right now is unpaid, and sometimes I can't help but think that any sort of career improvement when you have no job still needs to be compensated in a more immediate, consistent fashion.