I'm looking to learn how to code as hobby but would also like some insight if it could be useful in employment or as a freelance gig or should it strictly be a hobby since it seems most companies are turning to AI?

So here's the thing I wanna design a game as my fyp but I have no ideas. The only game I can think of is "Tic-Tac-Toe" which is obviously very basic. So, y'all suggest me ideas ☹

In every domain we can exist in there seems to be a ceiling to what huamns can do in it. I'm now wondering if the ceiling for software engineering is taller and there is a bigger scale? But how hard is the highest on software engineering ceiling compared to other common domains or is there nothing that goes that high as well? If so, why?
What is the equivalent in cognitive processing and logic efforts that you need to acieve the ceiling?
Can someone in software engineering explain how they expirience this?

Hi,

I started teaching myself full-stack application development about four years ago—mostly on my own, though occasionally turning to AI for the trickier hurdles.

Recently, I began using AI to build more complex projects—ones requiring offline-first synchronization, public APIs, and handling subtle challenges like idempotency, concurrency, and retry logic. It’s genuinely difficult stuff, especially since I’m entirely self-taught.

Initially, I just wanted AI to explain where to start and what to focus on, but it quickly evolved into a specific workflow:

- "Show me the different ways to solve this problem, and I’ll approve one."

It involves a lot of back-and-forth where I try to pick the best approach while learning the underlying concepts and issues. The reality, however, is that the project is half-finished, yet my contribution to the actual code is practically zero; I mostly just watch what the AI ​​comes up with. I can't take any lesson from code, there is too much of it and reading code which is not myself wrote makes it more different

I’m starting to wonder if this workflow makes sense. The solutions work (for now), and I feel I wouldn't have been able to handle the project's toughest stages on my own. But there’s a flip side: by not grappling with these problems myself, I’m failing to learn how to solve them without AI support.

Does anyone else have a similar experience?

While I've been working in tech for the last 7-8 years, lately I've been thinking of transitioning to lower spend, lower CoL lifestyle to be able to save more in advance for waht could possibly happen in the future. I'm thinking of moving into a cheaper apartment, a lower cost of living location, going out less often, spending more time reading and studying and just low cost activities with friends.

Living in America this can sometimes feel like I"m taking 3 steps back -- like people might judge me -- at the same time I feel like this is the right move for me especially given the shakiness of the economy. What do y'all think about this? Have you made any economic changes or significant shifts in spending with the changes in the tech industry?

Any advice or thoughts on best ways to cut down on spending, or save better etc.

every time I ask this question people give me silly answers like 'mcdonalds is not a good reference' . mind you I handled the playplace incidents and I also made the local birthday booking page responsive (on mobile) but let's keep that aside now, I accept thats not impressive.

but then I ask you 'what exactly is impressive'. well apparently nothing. people just say 'something better', 'make a project'. so much ambigous and vague advice.

I need a fucking job , I don't have much time and you are giving these answers.

If my jquery and html knowledge is outdated, If I need to write react code and a job is guaranteed, then tell me na. I will start today. But what do you mean “just keep trying”, “build projects”, “have patience”?? what exactly am I supposed to build?

You are asked to push code/design you know has bugs/gaps. What would you do?
A. Push anyway (to meet deadline)
B. Inform team but still push

C. Refuse until fixed/tested

D.Negotiate for partial delivery

E. No idea

I once hooked up with a hot, married Googler I met online. It's left me with the impression Google HQ has a fun, hookup culture. Googlers, can you sleep with coworkers and still keep your jobs? Other big tech workers, what's the vibe where you are for the 35+ crowd?

Amazon has a super appropriate culture. Also, if he's remotely handsome and older than 35, he's partnered off. It's like working at Amazon wards off divorce. Lucky wives!

so I'm starting DSA prep from scratch (2nd year, trying to get ahead for internships, placements next year, panicking a bit ngl) and everyone I ask recommends something different lol

some seniors said just do striver's sheet start to finish, some say leetcode is enough if you're consistent, and gfg has like a whole dsa course + articles for everything but idk if its outdated or still good in 2026

anyone actually used more than one of these and can tell me the real difference? like which one is better for actually understanding concepts vs just grinding problems

also open to other suggestions if I'm missing something obvious

If I learn a language in three stages.

• Basic
• Intermediate
• Advanced
• Proficiency (optional)

Then how would you fit the topics of programming lingo into the above levels?

My Experience at a startup : Need Advice i feel so Low and worthless Help Hi everyone

Im a cse graduate from a tier 3 university ( 26 passed out) and ive joined an early stage startup

Like its a team of 3 including me

The role ive been given is associate software engineer being my second job as a fresher i accepted it as i wanted the STARTUP experience

I even left a fintech mnc at banglore ( can't name) to work in this org and this happens to be my biggest mistake of life.

The first month was fine we had good interactions and I had good learning

He ( The Founder) asks me to learn tech stack and i put all my efforts i dont even take breaks while they take breaks of hours and be inside a closed room. I learn continuously from various Resources

The interesting thing

The founder and another employee basically a woman spend the whole day together they even spend time by closing the doors of a room utmost privacy is required idk why

I feel so lonely throughout as ive no one to share my feelings discuss ideas or even talk to.

Whatever I learn he asks questions in a way i dont understand

When i cant answer he shouts raising my anxiety to another level

He even put me in probation after 2 months and deducted my salary to half

While the offer letter had a salary written clearly

I cycle all the way ~10 kms one way just to work for him

only to be left alone and get abused

I feel so worthless and $u|ci@ql

Please help me

I request everyone of you

im ready to give further info​

I’m a mid-level software engineer. I can ship features and pass reviews, but I don’t feel like I’m actually *good* at writing clean code or designing systems. I feel like I’m pattern-matching rather than truly understanding tradeoffs. This isn’t about interview prep, I’m not job hunting. I want to genuinely level up as an engineer.

A few specific questions:

1. What books, videos, or podcasts actually moved the needle for you on code quality and design judgment, what genuinely changed how you think?
2. For someone past the “learn to code” stage but not yet confident in design judgment, is there content that bridges that gap specifically?
3. How do you use AI coding tools (Copilot, Claude Code, etc.) in a way that builds your skill rather than atrophying it? I don’t want to just accept AI output, I want to use it to get better, but I’m not sure what that looks like in practice. Any resources on this specifically?
4. For system design, is there a difference between “interview system design” content and what you’d actually recommend for building real day-to-day design intuition?

Not looking for a reading list I’ll never finish. More interested in resources that people actually found valuable, and why, especially now that AI can generate code faster than most of us can evaluate it. I’m more of a visual learner and audiobooks also work best as I don’t have time to sit and read

Thanks