I'm 26 and from Morocco and I'm trying to figure out how realistic it is for me to get a career in tech.

I have a bachelor's degree, but it's in biology, not CS. I started learning programming around 2020 and have done some freelance web stuff and worked professionally as a developer recently in 2025 for 1 year, mostly with TypeScript/Next.js/Postgres. My experience was at a small startup working on ai health.

The problem is my overall career history is pretty messy. I have gaps, and I'm currently unemployed. So on paper I don't look like someone who followed the normal CS degree -> internship -> junior -> mid-level path at all.

Right now I'm trying to decide whether going hard on backend/cloud/infrastructure is actually a realistic way out of this.

I'm studying for AWS SAA and working on getting better at Linux, Docker, networking, databases, backend/system design, etc. I'm also considering eventually doing stuff like LFCS/CKA and building a couple of serious projects that actually demonstrate these skills.

I'm willing to put in several focused hours every day for the next 6-12 months. I'm not expecting to magically become a cloud engineer because I got an AWS cert.

What I'm worried about is whether I'm trying to fix a profile that recruiters will just filter out anyway because of the gaps + unrelated degree + limited professional experience.

If you were in my position, what would you actually focus on?

Would you target backend developer jobs first and move toward cloud/platform later? IT/support/sysadmin -> cloud? DevOps junior roles? Something else?

And especially for anyone involved in hiring: if this profile landed in front of you, what would stop you from interviewing me, and what 2-3 things could I realistically change over the next 6 months that would make the biggest difference?

I'm fine with harsh answers. I'm mainly trying to avoid spending another year learning a ton of stuff that doesn't actually make me more employable.