What a poetic perspective! A few days ago, I was very much "to code or not to code", or rather, "get thee to a nunnery...", considering a switch to nursing to better support my family long-term. But I'll try to push forward for a while longer and adapt as best as I can. I'm not as optimistic as most folks on this page, but also trying not to waste my energy on a panic attack.

Some more junior folks, including a few of my closest friends, just won't make it. It seems like their jobs have already been replaced by a number of different factors, including AI. It's a very sad investment of time and money for them and their patient spouses, and I feel very guilty for recommending that path to them, and being unable to help them after they struggle for twelve months or more post-bootcamp, still unable to land a job.

I am just a few years ahead, and may just have a shot at the next evolution if I learn AI in a hurry...Or maybe it's also hopeless for me.

Here's to everyone giving their best shot to seizing that future, ahem (not) abyss...

Taking a lot of further inspiration from posts on this thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39656745 "Ask HN: What took you from being a good programmer to a great one?" Build everything from scratch, using zero dependencies, get below the abstractions... Ok, ok, ok. :(