Hi; thanks so much for doing this! So, for a long time I had planned to try to become a congressional staffer in order to do good with my career, with my fallback being working as a software engineer at an organization working on one of the world’s most pressing problems. After I finished an undergrad degree in applied mathematics, about 2 years went by, and though I was able to find some work in that time, I wasn’t able to get a job on a congressional staff, so I decided to pivot to the software engineer plan. I started a master’s program in computer science, which I’m currently about halfway through, but when I began the master’s program I didn’t realize how quickly AI was advancing, or how much of the work done by software engineers would get automated. Between the master’s program and my part-time job, I have very little time for other things, like setting up my own, private projects to demonstrate my abilities to future employers, networking, and volunteering; and I’m starting to worry that things like those might be more conducive to me finding a stable, relatively-AI-resistant career than continuing in the master’s program. However, there is something I should note, which might be a good reason to finish the master’s degree: I currently have something that’s not technically a scholarship, but for all practical purposes it is; so funding the master’s degree isn’t an issue. If I leave without finishing, I’d say there’s a 60-80% chance I could get the “sort-of scholarship” again; but of course that means there’s a 20-40% chance I couldn’t. In light of all that, would you recommend that I leave the degree program before finishing, and/or try for a different career path than software engineer? I’m currently on track to finish in about August 2026; though we’re allowed to skip summer semesters if we want to, so I could also finish in December 2026. In case that affects your answers.
Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate some guidance on this stuff.
Hi! Thanks for sharing your story. Some quick thoughts:
Could you quit your part-time job and instead use that time better? Could you take on a different part-time position that lets you build useful skills and networks?
I think it’s probably okay to finish your masters (since you’re already halfway through it); if you can find a job that’s going to get you hands-on experience on, say, LLMs, and/or build skills that could be robustly useful in a variety of roles, it might tip the scales in favour of dropping out (but by then you’ll be even closer to finishing, so maybe it makes sense to just complete it).
With or without your masters, with or without your job, I think it’s useful to get situationally aware about what’s happening in AI, and get comfortable (proficient, even) with using AI tools to enhance your own productivity and growth.
Benjamin Todd wrote about how not to lose your job to AI. I might not fully endorse this piece, but I think it’s directionally correct and has some good ideas to think about.
Thank you for your thoughts! I’m reluctant to quit the part-time job, because I feel like I need to be saving up money right now, but I’ll consider the idea, along with your other suggestions. The help is appreciated!
Hi; thanks so much for doing this! So, for a long time I had planned to try to become a congressional staffer in order to do good with my career, with my fallback being working as a software engineer at an organization working on one of the world’s most pressing problems. After I finished an undergrad degree in applied mathematics, about 2 years went by, and though I was able to find some work in that time, I wasn’t able to get a job on a congressional staff, so I decided to pivot to the software engineer plan. I started a master’s program in computer science, which I’m currently about halfway through, but when I began the master’s program I didn’t realize how quickly AI was advancing, or how much of the work done by software engineers would get automated. Between the master’s program and my part-time job, I have very little time for other things, like setting up my own, private projects to demonstrate my abilities to future employers, networking, and volunteering; and I’m starting to worry that things like those might be more conducive to me finding a stable, relatively-AI-resistant career than continuing in the master’s program. However, there is something I should note, which might be a good reason to finish the master’s degree: I currently have something that’s not technically a scholarship, but for all practical purposes it is; so funding the master’s degree isn’t an issue. If I leave without finishing, I’d say there’s a 60-80% chance I could get the “sort-of scholarship” again; but of course that means there’s a 20-40% chance I couldn’t. In light of all that, would you recommend that I leave the degree program before finishing, and/or try for a different career path than software engineer? I’m currently on track to finish in about August 2026; though we’re allowed to skip summer semesters if we want to, so I could also finish in December 2026. In case that affects your answers.
Thanks so much for your help! I really appreciate some guidance on this stuff.
Hi! Thanks for sharing your story. Some quick thoughts:
Could you quit your part-time job and instead use that time better? Could you take on a different part-time position that lets you build useful skills and networks?
I think it’s probably okay to finish your masters (since you’re already halfway through it); if you can find a job that’s going to get you hands-on experience on, say, LLMs, and/or build skills that could be robustly useful in a variety of roles, it might tip the scales in favour of dropping out (but by then you’ll be even closer to finishing, so maybe it makes sense to just complete it).
With or without your masters, with or without your job, I think it’s useful to get situationally aware about what’s happening in AI, and get comfortable (proficient, even) with using AI tools to enhance your own productivity and growth.
Benjamin Todd wrote about how not to lose your job to AI. I might not fully endorse this piece, but I think it’s directionally correct and has some good ideas to think about.
All the best!
Thank you for your thoughts! I’m reluctant to quit the part-time job, because I feel like I need to be saving up money right now, but I’ll consider the idea, along with your other suggestions. The help is appreciated!