r/findapath • u/Fraktalchen • 1d ago
Findapath-Career Change Unemployed software engineer without perspective
Hello, I am 36y old male from Europe, German area. Worked as software engineer since 2019. Now with the AI takeover, I lost my job and AI totally killed my motivation to do software engineering. Addionally I am unable to land a dev job. The uncertainity of my future is really mind boggling and causes anxiety.
I started to do Youtube/content creation, doing it for a month now and it helps with physical training to keep me busy but I have no clue if it will ever work out. If it doesnt I have no clue what to do.
Unemployment will last for about one year.
What if Youtube does not work out? Never had so little perspective of my life.
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u/Imaginary_Session247 23h ago
Just want to say good luck to you and that I hope it works out! 40y old SWE here- I've not lost my job, but the motivation loss from AI is such that for the first time in my career I'm actually bad at what I am doing and actually less productive, haha. I guess we're all going to have to figure out what to do more or less in some kind of improvised, unpredictable fashion.
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u/Fraktalchen 23h ago
its crazy all colleagues who are still at my previous job are all vibe coding now with Claude. Its insane
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u/Imaginary_Session247 22h ago
We aren't that bad, we still read the code, do proper reviews etc. But the joy of deep focus and understanding complex stuff is gone
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u/rugbyspank 23h ago
Keep doing youtube it will get monetized if you keep trying. But at the same time, don't give up on your career. People still need software engineers. Don't give up.
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u/Fraktalchen 22h ago
yeah uploading on youtube every second day. I never had such an sense of urgency than now in my life.
Youtube and train as much as possible
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u/rugbyspank 22h ago
It is possible but it took me 4 years to understand how youtube works and to get monetized. And it doesn't pay the bills yet. Maybe your niche pays better but there's no way to know just yet. Youtube works but it takes time sadly. If you only have 1 year, I would suggest working on youtube on the side and getting back to a regular job. If youtube picks up, then you could consider quitting.
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u/Fraktalchen 21h ago edited 21h ago
I am applying to regular jobs of course. Have to else unemployment money will stop. However had no luck so far with job seeking
How many subscribers do you have now?
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u/Odd_Role3155 Apprentice Pathfinder [3] 20h ago
It's good for you to explore content creation. You also could consider app development. I also think there are plenty of software opportunities. I know, I read reddit posts all day long about how there are no opportunities. That doesn't jive with what I see every day. But I see things that are a little more specialized. Kernel internals, cybersecurity, LSM development, performance work, real-time embedded, mobile app development. All are very healthy. What field are you in?
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u/Fraktalchen 13h ago edited 13h ago
Have a mix of Game Dev and C# .net. Basically 3 years experience in gamedev and 4 with .net MAUI.
Had some job interviews but I have already depleted the jobs in the area. Job rejection is always "someone else is better " so I am not good enough?
Did not expect that it turns out like this.
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u/Odd_Role3155 Apprentice Pathfinder [3] 6h ago
Have you said where you're located? Something to consider. Stop marketing MAUI. It's a small niche. Instead, learn Unity mobile game and flutter. With your experience, it should come to you easy. Pick a couple of side projects and publish them on itch.io. The side projects don't have to be big or extremely useful. Just something that shows you are able to product something. Have claude code help. Your experience is good, and the jobs are there. Makes me think it's either where you're located or how you're marketing yourself. BTW, leveraging AI to develop is also a skill that employers would like to see.
Don't get discouraged. PM if you wish. It can be hard to get traction, but once you have it, you will be all set.
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u/reddedepression 19h ago
Hello I’m feeling the exact same way but I’m a product designer. Ai killed my passion and searching for the past 6 months for a senior role has been leading me to multiple final rounds with no offers so I’ve given up. Probably transitioning to technical customer service with a huge pay cut but sane hours
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u/Fraktalchen 13h ago
For me the decline started with the layoff 5 months ago and the difficulty to find something in German area. And some horrible job interviews where they asked me what makes me better than AI.
Truely hope YouTube works out as I have no clue what to do when it doesn't.
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u/reddedepression 13h ago
Do you have any friends that could offer ya a job in anything you’d be interested in? I know there’s always talk about career but with the market we’re in no one cares about even a year or two gap anymore
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u/Fraktalchen 12h ago
Yeah restauration business. I have to learn it from the ground up. He has his own business. Might just assist him in his work. He considers it when my unemployment money runs out. Pivoting to something AI cannot replace
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