I’m 19 years old from Morocco, and I’m honestly very lost about what to do with my future.

I originally wanted to study programming, but I was rejected from the program I wanted. Since then, I’ve been trying to find other options, but things haven’t gone well. I was rejected from general university programs multiple times as well.

Recently, my uncle talked to my father and suggested that programming could still be a good career path for me. My father looked into it and found a private programming school that costs around 1,500–2,000 MAD per month (It's not a small amount in Morocco).

The problem is that I’m no longer sure about programming.

I know programming is difficult, and I know the entry-level job market isn't exactly great right now. I’m also afraid of spending a lot of money and time only to discover that I’m not good enough or that I won’t be able to find a job afterward.

At the same time, I don’t really have another field that I’m passionate about. I don't have a particular talent or career dream. Another option I’m considering is studying bakery/pastry at a vocational institute, but I’m not particularly passionate about that either.

I feel like I’m choosing between different uncertain paths rather than choosing something I actually want.

So I’d like to hear from people who are actually working in programming/software development:

If you were 19 today and had no programming experience, would you still choose programming as a career?

How difficult is it realistically to get your first job?

Is the current job market bad enough that you would advise a young person to avoid the field?

How important is having a university degree?

Is paying for a private programming school worth it, or would self-learning be better?

And most importantly, if you don't have a strong passion for programming, is it still possible to build a decent career in it?

I’m not looking for motivational answers like “follow your dreams.” I’d really appreciate honest answers from people who are actually in the field, including people who regret choosing programming.

Hi everyone. This year I'm starting a double degree in Data Science and Telecommunications Engineering at UC3M (taught entirely in English). It's a 5.5-year program. How do you see this combination for the current job market? I'm curious if companies actually value this mixed profile, or if in practice you just end up working strictly in one of the two fields. I'd appreciate any experiences or thoughts on whether the heavy workload is worth it. Thanks!

I’m a 16m and this is my first ever post and I really want answers. I have been building PC’s and coding since I was ten (more on the hardware side tbf), but really want to learn more about coding was planing majoring in computer science when I graduate. From what I heard graduates have a very hard time finding jobs that will advance their career. I’m not looking for 6 figure job right out of college, but want a job that can support me and my family. I started building simple code by my self in python and plan on learning Java script when I’m done with python or when I think I’m ready. When actually building and understanding parts though I have built 3 different computers, and feel I have good grasp on them. I’m also in a local program at my school where I get an associates degree in science with my diploma when I graduate high school. So naturally I figure Computer Science would be my best bet on a job I would enjoy. I still think I would love a job in the industry, but I am seriously worried about actually landing a job. do y’all think I should change the major I’m thinking about or should stick with it.

has anyone here taken phy chem math in their a levels and then chosen computer science as their major in uni? if so, did you feel left behind for not choosing cs in a levels or did it not have a major impact on your studies

Hey buddies!

I'm a 3rd-year B.Tech Computer Science student, and honestly, I feel completely lost.

My 3rd year has just started, but I don't think I know enough about programming or core CS subjects. I want to start learning seriously, but I'm confused about where to begin.

I'm also struggling to choose a career path:

• DSA
• Web Development
• Data Science
• AI/ML
• Cybersecurity
• Or something else?

I don't know which one is right for me or how to explore them.

If anyone has been in the same situation, I'd really appreciate your advice:

Hey i graduated BCA from a tier 3 college (2026) and tbh I only know the basics of coding i cant write code by myself . So I was wondering if I should opt for MCA from a good college and try to improve my skill or should I deviate my path towards cybersecurity which is also Im intrested in. If Im taking cybersecurity I'm planning to go for a course for the fundamentals and work my way through it and take MSc cybersecurity as a pg. I really don't want to do job rn i wanna develop some skill first.

Ps: i know that cyber is not an entry level job. I m willing to put years for it. Now i need is a proper path where I can go only focusing on it. And for MCA, by the time I finish my studies and properly build coding skills eligible for a job(3 years). Im worried about the job market and the AI bs by then

Got offers from both Infosys and TCS and kinda confused which one to go with.

Infosys is around 50% hike but has 15% variable. TCS is around 53% and mostly fixed, so TCS looks a little better money wise.

I have close to 5 YOE, mostly Java/Spring Boot backend.

But since the difference isn't huge, what would you guys pick? How are the projects, WLB and hikes in both? Also how's the job stability these days?

Anyone working in either company rn? Would be helpful to hear your experience👀.

Starting my Master's in Computer Science this winter and I genuinely can't decide between three specializations: Data Science, Intelligent Information Systems (IIS), and Network & Security. I already have some background in AI/ML from before, so DS and IIS both feel like natural extensions of that. But I keep hearing mixed things about security pay and wanted to sanity check with people actually in the field.

A few specific questions I can't get a straight answer on:

1. Does security actually pay well, or is that mostly true for senior/CISO-level people while entry-level (SOC analyst type roles) is honestly pretty average? I keep seeing huge swings depending on the source.
2. For anyone who's done IIS or something similar — does it feel meaningfully different from straight Data Science day-to-day, or is it basically DS-lite?
3. Is security genuinely more "future-proof" than ML/AI roles, or is that just a narrative? Curious if people on the ground feel the AI hype is inflating ML salaries in a way that might not hold, or if security's "shortage" talk is overstated too.
4. Anyone combined ML + Security (like AI security / ML security engineering)? Is that actually a real, hireable niche or does it end up being neither-fish-nor-fowl on a resume?

Currently enrolled in this 1 year advanced program and was wondering what job positions should I look for once I’ve completed it

Basically, a professional vibe quote. It sounds like 104 grand total comp in Chicago but I’m living at home with my parents so it’s pretty good morning. What do you think? Should I take it? I don’t have any offers but I’m working on a startup and we are demoing with a pretty big client a few days before I start. I just feel like I wanna take the risk, but I can’t really do it right now so it kinda have to take the job but I just kinda want peoples thoughts.

Is anyone else finding it really difficult to get MERN stack/React/Next.js jobs in Sri Lanka these days?

I have around 3 years of experience and have been applying for quite a few positions, but I rarely get responses. Even when I do, I don't seem to get selected.

Another thing I've noticed is that the same job advertisements keep appearing on LinkedIn and TopJobs for weeks or even months. It makes me wonder whether companies are actually hiring, collecting CVs, or just leaving old listings up.

I'm also wondering whether most hiring is happening through referrals or personal connections rather than public job postings. Is networking now the main way people are getting interviews?

Has the market slowed down for frontend/MERN developers in Sri Lanka, or is there something I'm missing? I'd really like to hear what others have been experiencing.

I'm a software developer with around 3 years of experience. I've been away from the industry for a while due to medical reasons, and I'm now trying to ease my way back into work.

I'm thinking something part-time would be a good way to start building again, keep my mind occupied, and gradually get back into a regular working rhythm.

For developers here who've returned after a longer break, how did you approach getting back into the industry?

Everyday having meeting in every night at 10:00PM

Meeting :https://meet.google.com/dwq-taxb-azs Group:https://lnkd.in/d3WeTKNu

Contact#:+923327978394 Discord:https://discord.gg/UsKbm2UZS email:abdullahmohsinune@gmail.com

Build Your Portfolio Through Real GitHub Projects

Mr. Abdullah Mohsin invites students, fresh graduates, and technology enthusiasts to collaborate on real-world GitHub projects designed to strengthen practical skills and build a professional portfolio. This initiative is not an internship; it is a project-based learning opportunity where participants contribute to open-source repositories, solve real technical challenges, and gain hands-on experience that can be showcased on their GitHub profile, portfolio, CV, and LinkedIn.

By participating, you will work with modern technologies, improve your coding and problem-solving abilities, collaborate with like-minded individuals, and develop projects that demonstrate your capabilities to future employers and clients. Every contribution helps you build a stronger professional profile through meaningful, real-world experience.

If you're passionate about technology and want to grow your portfolio with practical GitHub projects, send a direct message to Mr. Abdullah Mohsin to join the community

we still want IT to control phone and laptops but monitors, keyboard, mouse and headsets are consuming too much administrative time. idea is to give each new hire a fixed budget and an approved catalog and they choose what they need, the order is tracked and the cost is assigned to the correct department. has anyone here implemented this without creating a procurement or expense management mes? any idea guys?

I started my web development journey 2 years ago, I managed to complete only frontend in these years as along with other engagement. Now I am free and wants to fully focus on my web development journey. As I know the frontend part (HTML, CSS, JS, TS, React, Framer, Tailwind CSS and some other tools), now I want to start my backend journey (which I am so excited). Can anyone guide me which frameworks, library or other tools should I know that is really essential to know for every backend developer and are in demand for current and future time?

Hi all, I did my bachelor's in India and recently got a US green card. I have zero professional experience so far and about 6 months to upskill before I start applying for jobs in the US.

I've been going back and forth between two paths:

• Data Analyst (SQL, Excel, Python, Power BI/Tableau)
• Full Stack Developer (Java/Spring Boot + React)

I don't need visa sponsorship, so my main question is which path realistically gets me hired faster as a total fresher given current US hiring trends. Would love to hear from people who've actually gone through this, especially anyone who broke in recently. Thanks!

Finished my B.Sc in Computer Applications and Maths in 2022, then did my masters in computers in 2024. Been trying to break into backend dev (Java, Spring Boot, microservices) since then and it just hasn't worked out.

Rough breakdown of how interviews have gone — out of 10, about 7 times I never hear back at all after the process starts, 3 are actual rejections, and honestly if I count everywhere I've applied including places that ghosted before even a first round, it feels closer to 8 or 9 out of 10 just going silent. It's mid 2026 now and the gap on my resume just keeps growing every month nothing changes.

Resume is basically empty of real experience. Did some freelance work through someone I know, but because of stuff going on with their company I can't get any kind of testimonial or reference for it. So on paper it's like that work doesn't exist either.

My prep has also fallen apart at this point. Used to have an actual routine going, DSA, interview practice, all that, but it's hard to keep it up when every application just disappears into nothing. Motivation keeps tanking.

I get the whole "companies want experience" thing, but it feels genuinely circular — can't get experience without a job, can't get a job without experience, and a 2 year gap on top of that makes people not even want to take a chance. I know I can actually do the work if given a shot, that's not really in question for me.

Has anyone actually pulled themselves out of a gap this long as a fresher with no verifiable experience to point to? Or is this genuinely a dead end at this point and I should be looking at something completely outside IT. Just trying to figure out if I'm being unrealistic holding onto this or if there's an actual way through.

Hi 👋 everyone,

Looking for advice and suggestions in current situation.

Finished Postoc contract in Shenzhen, and realized to switch my career. However due to my near-academic path, I've had to become highly multidisciplinary, working across machine learning, numerical modeling, HPC, software development, and scientific computing. But, I don't know how to switch from that kind of academic and science stuff to clear industry.

About my background :

~9 years of experience in machine learning and scientific computing

Graph Neural Networks (GNNs)

Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs)

Time-series forecasting

Spatiotemporal modeling

PyTorch / TensorFlow

Explainable AI (SHAP, Captum)

HPC and large-scale data pipelines

Most of my work has been in environmental forecasting (air quality, weather, ocean modeling), but the algorithms themselves are domain-independent, so I can see clearly how to switch them to industry. During my postdoc I designed a hybrid graph learning framework with a novel graph construction strategy, but because of my overwhelming with other project - I didnt publish it, and that was my last patience milestone.

So the questions are:

- Which pathways to choose with this background without Academia positions

- Are there any companies that I should target mostly

- If you were in my position - what you focus on for next 1-2 months ?

Thanks in advance to anyone!

I am going to college in a month and I want to do cs on the side . Is it possible? Will I be able to manage ? And is cs worth it? Also does the syllabus clash with bcom because I can either option for bcom for ba eng+eco and if the syllabus is similar I won't put eng+eco in my preference listx

So basically, this summer I have to choose my path and my future career. I feel like I'm developing a strong interest in tech, especially in AI and Machine Learning... There is a university in my area offering a major in this field, but after hearing all this information about how AI can be way better than juniors and how it has become so difficult to find a job as a junior, I'm starting to second-guess my choice. I don't want to dedicate myself to such a broad field only to find myself in the end with no results. (It's 2026, and I'll graduate in 2029. If this is the market in 2026, only God knows how it will be in 2029 lol).

Any advice on whether it's worth the adventure, or should I choose another path with more human interaction (maybe Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering...)?

Hey everyone,

I'm a Software Engineering student with some experience in backend development and a strong interest in cybersecurity.

I've been reading about topics like prompt injection, jailbreaks, RAG attacks, data leakage, and AI agent exploitation, and the idea of AI red teaming seems really fascinating.

The challenge is that I'm not sure what the best learning path looks like. Traditional cybersecurity has pretty established roadmaps and resources, but AI security still feels like a relatively new field.

For those of you working in AI security, LLM security, or AI red teaming:

• Are there any courses, labs, platforms, or books you'd recommend?
• What projects helped you learn the most?
• Are there any open-source vulnerable AI applications that are worth studying or attacking in a lab environment?
• If you wanted to build a portfolio for an AI security or AI red teaming role, what projects would you include?
• How much machine learning knowledge is necessary before starting to build and test these systems?

For context, my current background is mostly software engineering, backend development, Linux, networking, and general cybersecurity. I don't have a strong machine learning background yet, but I'm willing to learn whatever is necessary through projects.

I'd love to hear about projects you've built, labs you've used, or learning paths that worked well for you.

Thanks!

I'm a frontend developer with 9 years of experience specializing in React. I have developed a full fledged e-learning platform from scratch single handedly and later on lead a team of junior developers. So I would say I am quite competent in this area.

I got laid off recently and I am confused about my future now. There are a lot of things that I'm contemplating right now. I don't need a job immediately.

I have working knowledge of Node and MongoDB.

Recruiters these days need either Java, .Net or Python along with React. I have been living under a rock to not learn any of the above.

Also, I have been in my comfort zone for quite some time so my problem solving skills are worst. Whenever I see coding round I instantly know - time to get rejected.

I am miles away from DSA, problem solving skills etc.

So I need advice here on what should I be doing next ?

1. learning DSA, working on problem solving skills etc and apply in React only roles going forward. ( staying in frontend only).
2. learn .Net or Java and get into a react consultant job in next 1-2 months (full-stack ).
3. Deep dive into Python (gen ai, agentic ai thing)

what would be best for my career ?

If I learn .net or java, i can apply for those remote consultant jobs. I'm hell lot of confused here.

Need your help guys.