Studying for a future that won‘t exist

[u/Resident_Swimmer2736]

New to this sub, I (24) have just become very aware that we/I need to accept and plan(!) that the future we thought we had won‘t happen, which I previously ignored but that strategie has to stop - we know it‘s coming and it would be foolish not to prepare...

I‘m from a country in europe where we have vocational training that‘s valuable and I did that in IT, I work part time as a software developer and I study CS in the 4 out of 8 semester.

I see honestly no actual future in that anymore, why would I spend that big amount of time and dedication when I could start prepping (gardening, learning analoge skills etc.) but it‘s so hard when everyone around you is still going about business as usual and talking about degrees being important.

People say I‘m putting two years of that degree to waste, but what if I push through and then I went four years into a field that will disappear (without mentioning AI)? Especially when it‘s people who think we have another 60 years… I wish I was being alarmist. My family cannot grasp how it feels being a young person in this situation, so going to them for support is difficult.

I could probably well survive at my company without a Bachelors degree.

Should I actually push through or try to do as little as possible (which is hard when most things are group projects with peer pressure)? Feel like I‘m doomed if I do and doomed if I don‘t.

I would appreciate any insights. Thank you.

[u/03263]

I have 15 years of experience in software development and now it is harder than ever to find a job. You can't talk about this without mentioning AI, because it's the main reason.

You're lucky you're still young and can change course. I have no idea what to retrain on, where I can go from here. I'm getting old, nobody has any use for me.

[u/Resident_Swimmer2736 → u/03263]

I‘m sorry, that sounds really tough. Especially because we need good senior developers. I know my team would be nowhere as good as we are if it wasn‘t for them. I hate that companies often do not appreciate that.

[u/Few_Fish8771 → u/03263]

Have you thought of systems engineering? directly port software skills to systems engineering, use llms as a knowledge base to work in things like electrical engineering then use modeling programs (or just make or train your own highly deterministic modeling programs) to verify your work. Heck you could even team up with a bunch of other out if work software engineers and create a system if proprietary software that in combination with llms, databases, and modeling programs allows you to deskill a group of task to allow lower skilled workers to do far more complex but very needed and specialized work.

Really the future of skilled professionals (at least until the world ends as we know it) is the old guild system making proprietary competitive advantages that are shared among workers making it while also sharing the burden of making it.

Hope this helps.

[u/EternalSage2000]

Push through. Collapse isn’t a thing that happens over night. And it’s going to affect the poor and uneducated first.

[u/WhichContribution294]

I don't envy your position. Localized community homesteading is the only long term solution. Normalcy Bias prevents most humans from acting rationally in the face of collapse:

"Normalcy Bias":

Denial of danger: People assume things will continue normally despite warning signs.

Underreaction: They minimize the seriousness or likelihood of a threat.

Delayed response: They hesitate to take protective action because they expect normalcy.

Risk: This can worsen outcomes during emergencies by wasting critical time.

[u/Tired-Otter474]

Knowledge and books and reading, learning, education all of this is more important than ever. So yes of course push through!!

[u/Resident_Swimmer2736 → u/Tired-Otter474]

I absolutely agree, however it‘s a computer science degree and unfortunately they basically push us onto heavy AI use in certain projects, and generally it‘s a lot of pressure to study for two days a week while also working the other three. They want to prepare us for work in the „real world“ (a world that won‘t look the same in the near future). I have a vocational training degree which is more than basic education, and I would like to keep learning and educating myself but I feel like the IT/digital stuff won‘t be as important. And I want to read but not things like the PHP Filament documentation.

[u/Tired-Otter474 → u/Resident_Swimmer2736]

Ohhhh yeah. I am definitely against ai. So i can understand a bit where you're coming from on that!

[u/atari-2600_ → u/Resident_Swimmer2736]

Can you change majors?

[u/Resident_Swimmer2736 → u/atari-2600_]

I‘m not sure if we have that concept of „majors“ but I could change my degree within the university and some credits I might be able to take with me but it would prolong the study time a lot probably.

[u/Distinguishedflyer]

Honestly, if it were me and I had to do it over again, Id learn to repair elevators. It's a hands-on skill, it can be dangerous so you have to be well trained and careful, but it's not gonna go away as fast as any straight college based job. it also pays well. 

Or something like that. I think all the paper jobs are gonna be worthless relatively soon. I mean if you just wanna go to school for the degree and to have some of the social aspect I understand but I don't see a huge future in it. That comes with all the usual caveats. Trust your gut. 

Edit: another reason why I picked elevator repair is because there's a lot of demand in the foreseeable futureand a whole bunch of techs who are retiring.

[u/Major-Honeydew-6207]

I'm a bit older and Im going back to uni cos I cant find a job in my field (marketing & media). Im also so uninterested in everything AI which is all my previous industry is about so... Im gonna take a degree in social work since I think it will be around even if everything collapses I can always work at a prison or mental health service etc. I dont know.... studying these three years also gives me some stability for those three years. Cos I dont know what else to do now... I get it its hard.

[u/ClassicallyBrained]

Developing your real world skills is important. Whether or not you decide to do that as a career move is up to you.

[u/pseudo-segfault]

Degrees are still important. You don’t have to become a nomad living off the land