I think you should try a few different things out before you judge all software engineering jobs. There’s a big variety.

As for “making shitty bloated proprietary software” that only really applies to the really big tech companies and banks etc… Most dev jobs are about using code to solve a problem. I’ve worked in lots of small companies and we use open source software almost exclusively. If there’s anything you write that you think could be useful as an open source project, they’ll generally let you spin it out into a standalone library and you can spend some of your working time on that. The company benefits from increased visibility and can be a “thought leader” at conferences etc if it takes off. Definitely worth asking about that in the interview though, since different companies will have different philosophies around it.

It’s extraordinarily difficult to make a living in it unless you luck out and start a project that is extraordinary popular from the get go and even then you have to be more skilled than all the copycats. I’m running the only Foss ai api and I’m barely covering costs even though we have thousands of users 🤷

I don’t want to spend hours making shitty bloated proprietary software but 99% of jobs seem to be like that.

It sure is. :(

I really don’t care about applying for jobs

Unfortunately that’s not going away in any other profession. Unless you’re a unicorn and best friends with the hiring manager.

I hate just about every one of my classmates.

Sadly, that’s the biggest boon about going to school is networking with people that can provide you an easy in at their workplace and hopefully life long friendships.

Your certifications aren’t going to be all that helpful beyond meeting the checklist HR is following.

Is it possible to actually make a career in free software

People do make money off free software just look at Patreon. But they are the exception. Kernel development might be a in as well.

I just ditch out of tech and pick something else

You’re in it too deep now in my opinion.

Fortunately database developer roles are in high demand if you can stomach SQL and whatever unique cloud solutions they are invested in.

Also, if you want to tame a beast COBOL developers are in high demand too.

If you think robots are cool check out embedded systems.

I understand you may feel conflicted about your prospects about the current job market and the conditions of the industry in general, but it isn’t all bad.

Like other people said here, before throwing the towel try some things. Some domains may be “better” for your end goal than others - say, if you’d like to contribute to the Linux kernel, maybe you should try getting a job that is “closer to the metal”, maybe working on performance in some PaaS?

Different companies and industries have way different cultures, some that may be better aligned with your personality. In my personal experience, I always felt like I had more autonomy both over the software and the projects in smaller companies. Heard some people mention a similar sense of cultural fit in bigger, “hard” tech-focused companies (e. G. Embedded software), so once again, I recommend you experiment.

You most likely will benefit from the experience, and it may be a good stepping stone towards your end goal. Your day job does not define what you do and who you are, so you don’t need to assume that it’s 100% Foss or nothing, there are many possible paths in between, like other people have suggested here.

A lot of sectors need custom software and some of them have a mission more noble than profits. Government, education, science, culture… IT jobs in non-tech places can be rewarding too and you’ll get to have plenty of colleagues that aren’t your classmates. Being knowledgeable about various open source software can be valuable as well career wise.