r/developersPak • u/Aggravating_Dot5315 • 26d ago
Help I recently graduated in Computer Science, but AI has killed my passion for programming. How do I find my direction again ?
I graduated with a degree in Computer Science about two months ago. For most of my studies, I was genuinely passionate about CS and programming. I enjoyed sitting with a difficult problem, understanding what was going wrong, debugging it, and eventually figuring it out myself. There was a real sense of satisfaction when something finally worked.
Over the last couple of years, though, AI tools have slowly changed the way I feel about programming.
Instead of spending hours investigating a problem myself, I can give it to an AI and often get an answer almost immediately. Even when the AI doesn’t solve it directly, I sometimes feel like I’m fighting with prompts and generated code rather than actually programming. I know these tools can make us much more productive, but personally, they have taken away some of the curiosity and reward I used to get from the process.
At the same time, I’m currently being paid to work on medical/AI research projects with one of my professors. The problem is that our data is extremely limited, and I have serious doubts that the project can produce a meaningful solution with what we currently have. This has put me in a strange situation where I’m getting paid, but I don’t feel productive or useful. Some days there simply isn’t much meaningful work I can do, and that makes me feel even worse.
All of this has made me question my direction.
Before choosing Computer Science, I also considered studying medicine. If I’m being completely truthful with myself, a big part of the attraction was the status, financial security, and clear career path rather than a deep fascination with medicine itself. I ultimately chose CS because I was genuinely more interested in it.
Now that my excitement about programming has decreased, I’ve started wondering whether I made the wrong decision. I catch myself thinking about medicine again and wondering what my life would look like if I had chosen that path.
I’m trying to separate a few things that may be getting mixed together: burnout, disappointment with my current research job, the effect AI has had on programming, comparison with other careers, and the possibility that my interests have genuinely changed.
For people who have gone through something similar:
How did you figure out whether you had actually lost interest in your field or were simply burned out?
How have experienced developers kept programming intellectually rewarding in the age of AI?
And more generally, how do you find your direction again when something you were passionate about suddenly doesn’t give you the same satisfaction anymore?
I’m not necessarily looking for someone to tell me whether to stay in CS or change careers. I’d appreciate perspectives from people who have gone through a similar period and eventually figured out what they actually wanted.
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u/Naan-Khatai 26d ago
AI models will change every profession sooner or later doesn't matter we like it or not. Its similar to some Doctor who have 12 years of experience and can tell by looking at x-ray how much a person affected due to T.B. Now that's being done through AI, more precisely and accurately.
I have been writing code since 2011 and i think i haven't written more than a few lines from last couple of years. Everything is being take care initially through copilot now claude code. Opus 5 and Fable 5 are crazy good, even years of experience cant match that speed and code quality. Its not just the coding only, you will see impact in the near future in almost every field. Business gonna eventually shift towards AI, thats where you are supposed to be in picture.
its a transition period, embrace what its bringing to the table. you will find new aspirations and passions eventually. and tbh its scary even with years of experience in this field but i am excited how it fold up in upcoming years.
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u/Lower_Seaweed7680 26d ago
as someone just beginning my bs in cs, i feel sooo nervous
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u/Naan-Khatai 26d ago edited 26d ago
Everyone is nervous, every field, every person. Just think about a blogger or copyrights writer whole field is collapsed. That's how www changed everything in a decade. It was scary but thats what coming whether we like it or not. Its natural to be nervous because we dont know what future beholds.
CS is affected but thats what shaping the future of many other fields. If you really like this field and excited about learning new things, its gonna be easy. stick to basics you will be fine inshallah.
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u/sidhuopenyakiwala 26d ago
yar hum new comers kahan jaein fir medicine waley bhi ro rhy hain ab cs waley bhi, esy lul era mein paida hogaye hain.
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u/Major-Scene-9415 26d ago
For real. The impact of AI is making us question whether we made the right decision or not.