I have been mostly happy with programming in my early days. I’m now 28 years old, and been a programmer for the past 5 years. I mostly code Android apps, and sometimes server side code in Node/ExpressJS. For the past 1-2 years, I really want to change my career into more unique/niche fields of engineering. Programming, as I see it now, does not need a computer science degree or any degree at all, to do effectively. And people from other domains are getting into programming, and doing it a lot better than I do. I considered getting trained in Industrial Automation (PLC/SCADA/LABVIEW) and get into more mission critical domains, where I can work with lot of other Engineering domains as well. Another option I consider is to go for a masters in a niche engineering field. But as I analysed my thoughts, what I really (really) want is a unique engineering job, where the entry barrier for others is high. I don't have any idea if I could be a success in the new field. To conclude.

  - Programming is boring after a number of years
  - Programming is more of an art-form rather than engineering
  - Entry barrier for programming is low, so you don’t have to be an engineer to do programming
  - Your programming skills plateau after a certain age
  - Your engineering mindset will be lost if continued in certain type of programming jobs.