[_verandaguy]

    > I am contemplating whether I want to stay inside this rat race.

I'm in the same boat. I'm hoping to go back to school in 2027 and be out of work that revolves around programming in 5 years.

I'm not enthusiastic about the field anymore, which sucks, because I used to love working in programming.

[endemic]

What are you going to do? Asking for a friend.

[_verandaguy]

I'm still trying to figure that out. Something diplomacy-adjacent would be interesting to me; maybe conflict studies, or international relations.

Based on word from my friends who work in the field, a lot of it is people who have a lot of respect for the field, and a lot of professional respect for eachother. It's also a field I feel is unlikely to suffer from the same kind of scams that are taking over software while still offering an engaging environment.

It's also work with real-world impact, which is nice, though obviously comes with its challenges.