Probably refers to jobs that are unrelated to his interest like cashier, just to get by for now.

This. Earning a living by not breaking the law.

He’s just saying you gotta do what you gotta do. I couldn’t find work after getting laid off from meta platform engineering so I started clandestinely mass producing pharmaceutical grade methamphetamine for distribution across dozens of citizens across the American southwest. In my spare time, while looking for help desk positions.

You’re getting overboard here with your math lab, competition is more fierce and gangs could do something very unpleasant to you.