Even if you have a weak academic and employment background you can ABSOLUTELY get a dev job that won't be designed to fuck you over, like this one is.
You might have to move, you might have to get a (paying) internship (they definitely exist), and you might have to send out some cold emails to people you don't know to ask. But there's no reason you should be waiting tables.
You might have to move, you might have to get a (paying) internship (they definitely exist), and you might have to send out some cold emails to people you don't know to ask. But there's no reason you should be waiting tables.