What would it take for you to take a "survival job" (e.g. work at Starbucks) instead of holding off for a job in your respective field?

I certainly don't think that being homeless is going to make you feel more prideful, in fact it would make job search even harder. I can't imagine ending up in a shelter or in with family is going to be good on the old psyche.  Bear in mind I don't know anything else about your age or situation so maybe that part isn't relevant.   Sure it's not ideal to work in a survival job but you can still use your time off work wisely to network and make important connections with people in your preferred field all the while having some money coming in to ensure that you are keeping your clothing and general appearance in top shape.   Job search costs money; transportation, toiletries, clothing, printing applications (possibly), taking people out to coffee for informational interviews and so on.    On the day you are sitting in the hot seat and the interviewer asks you what you have been doing since your last job or graduation, what are you going to tell them?  That you were too proud to take a survival job so you just sat around doing nothing (and yes, applying for jobs you see posted online counts as nothing because of the low ROI) until the right thing came along?  What else would you be too proud to do?  How is that going to play out in the job? Will that make you hard to manage?  Unfortunately when people don't really know you they will jump to the worst conclusions because hiring the wrong person is very expensive and they don't want that on their hands.   Taking a survival job shows that you have some humility and that you will do whatever it takes in order to get where you need to be even if it's not glamourous.  That shows character. Employers want someone who is a pleasure to work with and can do the job well.

Humility isn't always a good thing, and pride isn't always a bad thing. With pride however it is important to choose your battles. Pride can get you in a lot of trouble, but it can also help you outperform the competition. Maybe entrepreneurship can be the path for you.

I have no problem with accepting a "survival job". For me, the issue is whether a "survival job" will accept me. As an example, I have nothing but web development work on my resume, and I have been out of work for nearly two years now, reaching a point where Chapter 7 bankruptcy is now a fact of my life. I have repeatedly applied to Starbucks and the like all this time but to no avail.