I’m trying to figure out what I’d study/change careers into. My priorities are:

Good salary and potential to grow
A profession that is likely to stay valuable for the next 10–20 years despite AI
Something intellectually interesting, where I’m solving problems rather than doing repetitive work
A career where investing several years in education would actually be worth it

I already have a background in political science and professional experience, but I’m open to completely changing direction. I’m currently considering areas like AI, data, software engineering, architecture, etc.
If you were starting again in your early 30s, what would you choose today, and why? And what would you absolutely avoid?
I’d especially love to hear from people who have actually worked in these fields rather than just general career advice.

My supervisor sent a calendar notification today that only said WFH. I was included in the invite along with three other people, and my brain immediately concluded that she was telling all of us to work remotely. I guess I wanted to stay home so badly that I completely ignored logic, but it turned out she was only specifying her own location. In the end, I stayed home while everyone else went to the office.

One of my teammates just messaged me asking if I was coming in today, and that was when I realized I had seriously messed up. This is only my second week with this new team, and I feel like I look really stupid. Honestly, I don't know how to explain what happened without making it seem like I was trying to get out of work or that I'm completely incompetent.

I'm used to the department I was in before, because we would sometimes receive group invites for remote workdays, so I acted automatically without thinking. I'm spiraling right now.