I'm 16 and chose to attend a technical school focused on programming. I've been studying it for about a year. I enjoy programming and find it fun, but I'm still a beginner and don't feel especially confident about my skills. With AI changing the industry, I'm worried that programming jobs may become harder to find. Should I keep learning programming and finish my studies, or would it be smarter to switch paths and pursue something else?
3 Answers
Try comparing programming with a specific alternative instead of comparing it with an unknown “something else.” Every career has advantages, disadvantages, and risks from technology or the economy. Programming can be challenging, creative, and well paid, but the job market several years from now is impossible to predict. Since you’re still young, you have time to investigate other fields while continuing your current studies.
If you enjoy programming, that’s already a good reason to keep exploring it. You don’t need to be excellent after only one year, especially at 16. AI is a tool that will change how developers work, but it doesn’t remove the need for people who understand problems, systems, communication, and the code being produced. Keep learning for now instead of making a permanent decision based on predictions about the future.
There may be fewer traditional programming roles in the future, so it’s worth building broader skills rather than relying only on writing basic code. Still, people who understand software deeply will likely remain valuable.
Software development has always changed. New languages, development tools, automation, and workflows have replaced some tasks while creating others. AI is another major change, but it doesn’t mean your education becomes useless. Focus on fundamentals such as problem-solving, data structures, debugging, databases, and how systems work. Build small projects and see whether you still enjoy learning when the work gets difficult. That experience will tell you more than headlines about AI.
That makes sense, but I’m mainly wondering whether learning programming is still worth the effort if AI can do more of the actual coding.
I enjoy it, but I’m worried because I’m not very good yet. It’s still fun, though, so I’ll probably keep practicing as a beginner.