Some towns don’t hire via CSC so you’ve still got a chance.

What you're referring to are "Chief's Test" towns, which are non-civil service. Unless you've got political juice in those towns, it's not worth the test application fee. You're not going to get hired there.

OP's best course of action right now would be to apply to a Shore town to be a "special" (class I or class II) for the summer. They typically ask you back the next summer if they like you. And if you start out as a class I, you can often get sponsored by that town to go class II the following year, which ups your chance of getting full certification.

Another possible route is to "self sponsor" at a county police academy. Basically, you pay your own way through the academy and become a "free agent".

Your suggestion of getting into the pension system ASAP is also a good idea. While it's harder to get into PFRS (police & fire pension) without a police/fire job, you can still get into PERS (public employee) and then transfer your time if you get hired in law enforcement. Basically, take any public job you can get your hands on, that's in PERS.