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 It seems like their jobs have already been replaced by a number of different factors, including AI.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 giving my best shot to seizing that future, ahem abyss... will try not to go Ophelia on this forum, embarrassingly, in the dead of the night again.

Taking 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?"