As a high school senior self-hosting, you are at least a couple years ahead of the curve in your cohort in this area. Don’t write yourself off, even if you are just half-blindingly running scripts for now, keep exploring and tinkering, then learning will come naturally with it.

Assuming you are in the USA, unemployment is low yet few are hiring. Trump’s tariffs and meddling in everything has made many businesses across the world hesitant to make any hiring or firing decisions (aside from Silicon Valley tech which thinks AI will do all the jobs). I’ve encountered several reports like this over the last year, which means if you were a new grad looking for a job right now, in many fields you would struggle to find one.

Definitely ask recruiters for their insight on job market trends, and also start talking to employed people in the fields you have an interest in. Ask if their department recently hired or had layoffs, and other questions to help you decide if that’s the kind of work you could see yourself doing in the future given honing your skills through higher education and hobby development.