I have access to a four-year Computer Technician program in my country because of a disability, and I'm considering it as a path toward future employment. The problem is that I feel deeply unmotivated and pessimistic about programming. It seems as though most useful problems have already been solved, and I don't have many personal problems left that I want to address with software. I also worry that there are already too many programmers and too many existing solutions, especially given the current uncertainty in the job market.
I'm not sure whether this view is based on reality or simply on my limited experience. I can think of apps I dislike and believe could be improved, but I don't yet have the equipment or confidence to start developing for that platform. Game development is another possibility, although I'm mainly looking for something creative, meditative, and potentially useful for employment.
Is programming still a reasonable direction to pursue, or am I forcing myself toward a field that no longer has much room for someone like me?
4 Answers
A programming job usually involves much more than producing novel code. You’ll spend time clarifying requirements, working with other people, testing, maintaining old systems, integrating libraries, and fixing edge cases. Employers generally want you to use established frameworks rather than rebuild everything from scratch. The difficult part is often figuring out what the customer actually needs and turning that into something dependable.
That also means automation tools are unlikely to eliminate the need for people who understand the problem, can evaluate the output, and take responsibility for the result. The job market can be uncertain, but uncertainty does not mean the field has no future.
You may be treating this as a decision with no opportunity to change course. If the program is accessible and the cost of trying it is manageable, learning programming could be a useful experiment rather than a permanent commitment. Skilled technical work still has value, and you can discover whether you enjoy it by building small things instead of debating the entire future of software.
Try a beginner project that matters to you, such as a simple game, utility, or improvement to an app you dislike. Pay attention not only to whether you like the finished product, but whether you can tolerate the process of debugging and revising it. If the answer is yes, that is enough reason to keep exploring.
The number of problems that can be addressed with software is nowhere near finite. People’s needs change, technology improves, and even familiar problems can be approached in better ways. You also probably haven’t encountered most of the problems that businesses, researchers, public services, and individuals still need solved. You don’t have to invent a revolutionary algorithm; a lot of professional programming is understanding what people need and building a reliable solution with existing tools.
The “everything creative has already been done” argument applies just as much to music, writing, games, and design, but people still create valuable new work. New software is often a combination of existing ideas applied to a particular audience or situation. Even if a problem technically has a solution, that solution may be too expensive, inaccessible, poorly designed, or unsuitable for a different group of users.
You don’t need to decide your entire life before trying. Start with small projects using whatever computer or learning environment you can access. If you enjoy the process, continue toward the course; if you don’t, the experience can still help you choose another direction.
That may be the central issue: I don’t know enough about the problems that actually exist. I’m not trying to become a research scientist, though; I’m mainly wondering whether ordinary programming work or small personal projects could still be a realistic path.