[stevenwu]

I don't agree with this article mainly because one's passion for anything in life is dynamic. It starts and stops at points in your life that you can't anticipate.

I didn't know anything about programming until university - I took the courses CS majors had to take in my stats degree until the end of 2nd year, and I definitely wasn't "passionate" about it. Actually, I was quite convinced I didn't want programming to be in my career whatsoever. But after my first co-op term in a start-up where I got to see what actually could be done with a team of people who knew how to code, coupled with 3rd year classes being more interesting and relevant than the fundamentals, I gained my passion. I now run a SaaS that combines programming, statistics, and other passions.

If I read your article after 2nd year while applying for my first jobs and taken this advice, I would have said "screw it, life's too short" and not be in the situation now where so many more doors are open compared to my classmates. I'd be on track for pigeon holing myself into boring stats jobs that need SAS certifications, with none of the skills I have now for a career in modern data analysis in the tech industry.

Side note, I hate reading about developers who lament about the career trajectory compared to being a doctor/lawyer. Most good developers are smart enough to genuinely believe that being a doctor would have been attainable if you just switched another lever earlier in life. I think this is a valid regret if you had actually always wanted to dedicate your life to legally/medically advising people, but you chose programming for the money. But for almost all of these developers, the decision to choose their career wasn't 100% about money and being a doctor/lawyer was never a serious consideration past wishful thinking. You're just viewing the grass as greener on the other side without considering the cons and consequences of actually being a doctor/lawyer, and that type of negative mentality is not healthy.