A few days ago, I was sitting in front of my computer much later than I planned. The room was quiet except for my keyboard and my occasional sigh when I couldn't solve the same problem for many hours. I was working on a small project. For an experienced developer, it would probably take only a few hours, but for me, I was still trying to understand why my code was not working as expected.
At one moment, I leaned back in my chair and asked myself a question:
"Did I choose the wrong time to follow my dream?"
It is not an easy question to ask yourself.
When I first became interested in programming, I wasn't thinking about money, remote work, or becoming successful. What interested me was the fact that people can create something from their imagination. A developer can sit in front of a computer and build something that helps another person somewhere else in the world. I always thought there was something beautiful about that.
I still remember the first time I wrote a program that actually worked. It was nothing special, and if I saw that code today, I would probably laugh. But at that moment, it felt like magic. For the first time, I wasn't only using technology—I was creating it.
That feeling is still with me today.
Over the years, I spent a lot more time learning than I expected. Sometimes I went to sleep thinking about a bug and woke up with an idea for the solution. Sometimes I forgot about time because I enjoyed building something so much. There is a special feeling when you finally solve a problem that seemed impossible before.
But this journey has not been easy.
Many times, I felt like I was standing in the same place while everyone else was moving forward. I would open LinkedIn or other social media and see people sharing their new jobs, promotions, and achievements while I was still trying to find my first real opportunity in the industry.
And then AI became impossible to ignore.
Suddenly, many people started asking if developers would still be needed in the future. Every week, there is another article or video talking about AI replacing jobs. For someone who is still trying to start a career in tech, it can feel very discouraging.
There were many nights when I asked myself if I spent years learning something that might change before I even have the chance to work in this field.
But every time I think about giving up, I remember that programming was never only about finding a job for me.
I simply enjoy building things.
I enjoy learning new technologies. I enjoy solving problems. I enjoy becoming a little better than I was yesterday.
AI may change many things, but it cannot replace curiosity. It cannot replace the feeling of solving a difficult problem after many hours. And it cannot replace the dreams that people have.
So, I decided to accept the uncertainty.
I don't know what this industry will look like in ten years. I don't know how many applications I will send before someone gives me a chance. I don't know how many times I will doubt myself before I finally feel that I belong here.
But I know one thing.
Tomorrow morning, I will sit in front of my computer again.
I will continue building projects. I will continue learning. I will continue trying, even on days when it feels difficult.
Because dreams do not always come when we expect them to.
And maybe that is okay.
Maybe one day I will look back at these years and realize that they were not the years when I was falling behind.
Maybe they were the years that taught me how to keep going.
If you have ever felt uncertain about your future in tech, I would really like to hear your story. Sometimes, knowing that we are not alone makes a big difference.
Top comments (8)
@fromzerotoship . You made my day today. It’s always nice to see that, even in the cold world of software development, there are people capable of offering comfort and lifting others up with a few kind words.
@larrymargerum01
If your dream was—or is—to develop software that solves real problems and helps people (even if it’s just yourself), then stick with it. You aren’t wasting your time, because you grow with every solution you create; that is your true portfolio and your real strength. You can find satisfaction in your successes, even when others don’t always see them.
If, however, your dream is simply to become filthy rich, ignorant, and racist—like Olen Tusk—then keep an eye out for every backdoor opportunity and practice being ruthless enough to realize your dreams with brute force, selling it to others as "brilliant leadership." In that case, you’d best start training your right "leadership arm" right now. ;)
When it comes to the current situation on the job market, we as developers are currently experiencing a strong paradox. Many mid-level and senior developers are being brought onto the market who have been made unemployed by AI. They apply in masses. Inspired by the current AI hype, employers are using so-called ATS systems. The systems are often set up incorrectly and only search for “standard profiles”. In any case, AI-generated or AI-polished job profiles are now hitting AI ATS systems, further exacerbating the situation. If there are 200 applicants for one place, the AI will choose the one with the most relevant skills at the cheapest price. As a result, more and more non-senior developers will “cheat” and declare skills that they do not have, which confuses the ATS systems, further lengthens and increases the cost of application processes, and ultimately leads to junior and senior developers falling out of the filters.
As for future prospects: No one knows what’s coming, but—regardless of the technology involved, whether AI-driven or not—you can always analyze the situation from a socio-economic perspective. If everyone uses AI, it no longer offers an individual company a competitive advantage. It’s much like the introduction of computers in the 1980s. Today, there aren't fewer jobs because of them, and no one reaps extraordinary profits simply by using computers in their firm; in fact, it’s quite the opposite—you can't function without computers anymore, and soon, you won't be able to function without AI integration either.
If I were you, I’d stay curious and keep developing your skills in all the relevant areas that interest you. Focus more on fundamental methodological knowledge than on narrow specialization, and create "meaningful" content that is useful to both you and others. Definitely stick with it; IT specialists with AI expertise will be in increasing demand (ultimately, you are the ones creating that competitive advantage for companies that AI standing alone cannot create).
Thank you, Andreas — the feeling's mutual, because your computer-in-the-1980s framing is the clearest answer I've seen to the fear sitting under all of this. I'm living proof of your last point, from an odd angle: I'm not a developer at all, I'm a physical therapist who builds hospital tools with AI. AI didn't replace a developer here — it let a problem-owner become one. The edge was never "we use AI"; it was "someone who understands the actual problem finally has hands." That's the part AI alone can't produce, exactly as you say.
Your ATS paradox is grimly well-observed: AI-polished profiles hitting AI filters, everyone optimizing for a machine reading a machine, and the real signal — can this person actually solve something? — getting squeezed out of the middle. My quiet hope is that it pushes more people toward what you describe: build meaningful things where a real person can see they work, and let that be the portfolio no filter can fake. Witnesses beat keywords.
And @larrymargerum01 — you just got a better answer than mine from Andreas, so I'll only co-sign it. "You grow with every solution you create; that is your true portfolio" is the whole thing. Two strangers from different corners of the world telling you the same thing on the same day probably means it's true.
Thank you for taking the time to write this. Your words genuinely mean a lot and gave me a much-needed boost. I'll keep building, learning, and staying curious.
"Dreams do not always come when we expect them to" — I can add a stranger twist to that: sometimes they don't arrive through the door you've been watching, either.
I never got a developer job. I'm a physical therapist at a hospital, and in my late thirties I started building small tools with AI for the problems around me — a broken counting process here, a miserable spreadsheet there. Twenty-some tools later, building software is a real part of my job title... and there was never an interview, never a LinkedIn announcement, never a moment where someone officially let me in. The work created the role around itself.
I'm not saying skip the job hunt — your context is different and the classic door may well open. I'm saying: while you wait, the projects you're already planning to build carry more weight if you aim them at real people near you. A tool for a local shop, a friend's workflow, a community's annoying process. Those projects do something portfolio pieces can't: they generate witnesses. People who saw the thing work and will say so. Every meaningful step in my path came from a witness, not an application.
And your line about curiosity is exactly right, with one upgrade: AI didn't just spare curiosity — it raised its price. The gap between people who wonder "could I fix this?" and people who don't has never produced more per unit of wondering than right now.
The years that teach you how to keep going are never the wasted ones. Rooting for you.
Hi FromZeroToShip
Thank you for your comment and for sharing your story.
I am still at the beginning of my career, so sometimes I worry that I am falling behind. Reading your experience gave me hope. I really like this sentence: "The work created the role around itself."
Your idea about building tools for real people is also very interesting. I usually think about projects for my portfolio, but now I will also think about solving problems around me.
I agree with you about curiosity. AI gives us many opportunities, but we still need to keep learning and asking questions.
Thank you again for your kind words and encouragement. It means a lot to me.
You're not behind — "behind" assumes everyone's running one track in the same direction, and the whole point of what I stumbled into is that there isn't one. You're early, which is a different thing, and early is the best time to pick the unusual door.
One note on portfolio-versus-real-problems: you don't have to choose. A tool that solves a real problem for a real person IS the strongest portfolio piece, because it comes with something a demo project never has — someone who will say "this helped me." Build the thing a friend, or your family, or an old workplace actually needs, and you get the code AND the witness in one move.
Keep asking the questions. The person who wonders "could I fix this?" and then actually tries is already rarer than you think. Rooting for you, Larry.
Thank you. I really needed to hear this today.
I've been carrying that feeling of being behind for a while, and "you're early" hit me harder than I expected. I'll keep building, keep learning, and keep trying.
And thank you for rooting for me—it honestly means a lot.
That "carrying it for a while" is the part that quietly costs the most — you can put it down now. You've already got the two things that actually matter: you build, and you keep going. The rest is just time, and time is the one thing you have plenty of. Go make your first small thing. I'll be here when you post about it.