Unsolicited Advice: If you are doing okay as a stay-at-home parent, then I would suggest that instead of getting a job, you start your own business surrounding one of your hobbies.
And stay confident. Your customers wouldn't likely be your peers, so don't think of your abilities in that sense, although from what I can tell you would do well in such comparisons. I am always overly critical of my AI training that I put out for people to download, but people who don't have the tech or the knowledge to train AI are always very happy with what I upload.
And while I'm not interested in making money off of this (that adds a level of responsibility that I enjoy not worrying about), I definitely could make money if I wanted to, and I'm always amazed at how many people are well-supported through Patreon, so you might make more money than you imagine.
I'll take advice where I can, so keep at it.
As for making my hobbies a job; I have actually and I hate it! I've done automotive repair for money and at this point, I'm turning down jobs to do it because working on cars is a passion project for me and to make it into what amounts to a "gig" takes the fun away for me. Plus I can really only compete with a professional on price; my primary job is to keep my family happy and fed, so actual home jobs take extra time because they aren't my priority.
I've even tried painting miniatures for people, but I get so bored when it's not my own thing that I'm painting for the love of it, so I stopped.
The one thing that I've turned from a hobby into my job is actually computers. I've owned my own IT Consulting business for over 15 years now, having done little stuff like supporting users at home to consulting and supporting medium sized businesses. This is actually a major point of what's gone in to my resume and what I think keeps me relevant. But, as mentioned, I've lost a lot of passion for computers given I've made it my job. In addition to that Consulting business, I worked for about 8 years as a Windows Sys Admin for a medium sized business. It was fun and interesting, but I don't generally feel motivated to tackle most technology driven project in my own house anymore, even if I still mess with Linux on the regular and dabble with my Ubiquiti network equipment.
Though, I must admit, I've probably lost some passion because PC stuff just isn't as exciting as it used to be. But I've been meaning for over a decade to study for some Certifications, but just haven't had the motivation to crack a book open, study and then take a test.
I'm really surprised with the "imposter" skills you've detailed before you aren't able to just whip up something that looks good enough to fool even the most nit picky bosses, instead of using the AI tool. Sometimes you remind me of Frank Abagnale, the guy Leonardo DiCaprio played in the movie Catch Me If You Can. The guy was brilliant even at a young age at faking checks, and even landed jobs as a pilot and a Dr with no such skills.
Frank Abagnale is now a very wealthy security consultant, who invented the first secure checks. You're wasting your talents my boy applying for regular jobs I say!
Well thanks for the vote of confidence, I appreciate it.
I'm not sure why the Imposter Syndrome exists within my head, it just does and it goes through cycles of being minimized (such as now) to being overwhelming. But I certainly shouldn't feel that way, as my family and friends all talk to me first when they're looking for advice on Cooking, Cars, Computers, etc, etc. As I like to say, "I'll fix your car in the morning, fix your computer in the afternoon and then fix you dinner in the evening."
Speaking of my hobbies: My wife has finagled some childcare for tomorrow for Father's Day. She's intending to cook my favorite breakfast (which is saying a lot, because she doesn't cook. Like, at all.), then take me for a mild hike, then lunch. Not sure our plans for the evening, but if we end-up coming home, I think I'll spend some time by myself in my Office, building the models I need to work on!
Per the hike, I've discovered I like to bring my RC Rock Crawlers on them. It's just fun to blast around the trails and do a little crawling here and there when we slow down. Turns out, my wife has fun with it too, so I had intended to bring two of mine, forgetting my primary one I tinker with has been having issues. So doing some troubleshooting this morning, I discovered my Servo (the part that turns the wheels) is shot. I can get a new one from Amazon by tomorrow morning, but I need to basically disassemble the frontend of the vehicle to get it installed, so I just don't think I'll have time to get it done. That said, I still have my favorite one to bring out on the Trails, so I'm excited to bring that and run it and I'll just have to share with my wife. It's dumb as hell and I feel like a child when I'm out on the trail actually running my RC car around, but screw the judgement of others, I'm having fun!
Edit: Forgot to mention: In spite of that Imposter Syndrome, I do sometimes think highly of myself. I actually applied for an IT Director position, something I've never done before. But I've got solid people skills and have been on the Board + President of my HOA for several years now, so I'm hoping it'll give me a bit of a edge, but we'll see. It's no ordinary job, at least, to my mind, as someone that comes from a Lower Middle-Class background.
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