When I was his age and doing similar things I felt the same way. I didn't understand how the university entrance game worked until it was too late because I was a poor first gen immigrant with no guidance or support. I thought I was going to be stuck washing dishes in the back of restaurants forever. Thankfully I finally got out of all that because I found people that actually valued my skills and would pay to take a chance on me, even though on paper I was probably not very attractive.