>after writing all this, I think these categories are a lot more about "what got you into this" rather than what you actually end up doing in this space.
>Nevertheless, my point here was to show a few of the ideas and directions I've been considering, and I'm keen to hear from others what you're thinking about too.
I decided to study computer science in college as a hopeful 18 year old who wanted to learn how video games work and maybe work for a development studio. I needed to find a job right after college, and I ended up going the full stack route. 10 years later (now) I'm working remote, making decent salary, but never fulfilled my original purpose for studying computer science.
What's gonna happen to this software engineer? Anecdotally, I'll ride my IT job as long as I can while using AI to learn about game development.
and perhaps more frustrating to smart people looking to do good realize they are just one person. Huge, structural changes to society involve everyone.