How in the world does anyone actually land a remote job???

I’ve been applying for remote jobs for about a year.

A little context into why I’m searching specifically for a remote job:

• Both my husband and I were both military, and now that we’re out of the service, we want to be able to move where we want. We both HATE to location we currently live in (near a military base where we were both stationed when we separated).
• I have a disability from my time in service. I’ve had four, very large knee surgeries and sitting with my leg bent at a desk for extended periods makes my knee so swollen. I prefer to work with my leg extended on the couch with a lap desk.
  • I’m an incredibly fast worker. I get done in 5 hours in what takes my colleges 2 weeks (they’re much older and extremely slow at typing). I hate wasting time and I feel that I waste the majority of my week at work just hunting for things to do. I tend to do a lot more tasks that extend out of my job responsibilities due to that, and now it’s becoming the norm for people to ask to do sit in meetings, etc. for those tasks.

Originally, I obtained a BS in Biology and worked in Pharmaceutical land for a bit. Then, joined the military and became a helicopter pilot. Now, I work in IT with a large defense contracting company testing flight simulators. I’m working on a dual BS/MS is Software Engineering currently. I know web development, Java, python, C# and a few others. I’ve found a love for computers and would like to stay in that world.

In the last year, I’ve applied to over 200 remote jobs. Anything from defense contracting, web development, junior developer roles, etc. I’ve tailored my resume to every single one.

I really feel like companies put out job listings they never intend to fill and simply want to phish for data to gauge how little they can pay people for a potential future role.

How does anyone land one?! My job right now pays very well. I would be willing to take a significant pay decrease for a remote role too. It’s crazy out there. Any advice is welcome!