How in the ever loving fuck do I upskill?
I'm an SE2 working at a gov/defense contractor that hired me out of school three years ago. The pay is below market rate and the techstack is niche, outdated, and quite honestly a handicap towards getting a new job as employers see it and trash my resume. I already find it hard enough to complete my work on time at the end of every sprint so not only finding the time, but having enough energy/motivation leftover to be able to upskill is like pulling teeth and brute forcing it is not working. I need to upskill if I want to have any hope of getting a job that isn't identical to my current one which given how niche it is and how bad the market currently is, I don't think that's a safe bet to take.
I need a new job as not only does the pay suck at this one, but I feel like I haven't really grown as a engineer so I'm falling behind as now despite having the title of SE2, I feel like I wouldn't be able to keep my head above water in a SE2/SE3 role in a work environment that isn't a shit show. Does anyone have any advice, tips, anecdotes, anything. Brute forcing it and trying to spend 30-60 minutes in the morning then 30-60 minutes at the end of the day isn't working. I'm a bit desperate as there's rumors in the grapevine that our project might be on the chopping block.