u/Zestyclose-Paint-418

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to understand whether game development is something I should seriously pursue, or whether it would be healthier for me to keep it as a hobby.

My main goal is to become a genuinely strong software engineer. I feel like modern programming is already very demanding: you need to understand many tools, write maintainable code, avoid creating messy codebases, think like an engineer, and be useful to a team. That challenge motivates me.

Game development, on the other hand, feels different to me. It seems more creative, which I like, but I also find it frustrating in a very specific way. Making a game from scratch is not just about gameplay. The player needs to feel like there is a reason to keep playing, whether that comes from story, progression, competition, atmosphere, or some kind of meaningful goal.

I’ve tried making games several times, but I often lose motivation quickly. Building even one level or map can take days, and I find that process boring and frustrating after a while. I enjoy the idea of making games much more than the actual long process of creating and polishing them.

I’ve also heard that getting a job in the game industry is very difficult, and solo indie development feels like you either need to be an exceptional case who makes a really good game, or you risk spending a lot of time on something that may not go anywhere. I also don’t want to make low-quality games just for the sake of finishing something, because honestly, I probably wouldn’t spend my own limited time playing that kind of game either.

So I’m wondering:

For people who have felt something similar, how did you figure out whether game development was right for you?

Did you keep it as a hobby, move into the industry, or leave it behind and focus on general software engineering?

Do you think game development can still be valuable for becoming a better programmer, even if I don’t end up making complete commercial games?

I don’t want this to sound like I’m saying game development is actually a waste of time. I know many people love it and build amazing things. I’m just trying to understand whether it might be a waste of time for me personally, based on how I react to the process.

I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences and honest advice.

I’m 17 and I genuinely love C++ because it is difficult in many ways. It constantly challenges you to think deeply, and it has a wide range of applications, like robotics, game development, embedded systems, and similar fields.

The problem is that all of these jobs seem extremely hard to find, especially for someone my age. I don’t really know what to do. I would love to get my first remote job, but there are almost no opportunities, at least from what I see on X/Twitter. A friend recommended cold emailing, and some people I know said they got jobs that way, but I honestly don’t know how to approach it.

I don’t know if I sound pessimistic, but programming has become the center of many jobs that attract scammy behavior. Sometimes I feel like, in the job market, I will be treated the same as someone who just watched a YouTube video, heard that programmers are highly paid, and decided that programming is a great work-from-home career.

There are just too many of us.

When I think about how many people I knew on Discord who were depressed and only wanted a remote job so they could use AI to do the work, it makes me feel even more confused. Then I look at people on YouTube,Instagram,tik-tok making money from the most ridiculous things, and it honestly feels like people today don’t even think deeply anymore.

Times feel very hard, and I don’t know what I should do.

My friends told me to try cold emailing, and they say they got work that way, but I really don’t know what I am supposed to become in today’s world: a good person and a real programmer, or just another scammy person who only wants money, like it feels many people are doing now.

I know this might sound negative, but I’m being honest. I like programming, especially C++, and I want to build real skills. I just don’t know what the realistic path is for someone who is 17, has no degree, wants remote work, and is interested in hard fields like robotics, game dev, embedded systems, or low-level programming.

Any honest advice from people who have been in a similar position would mean a lot.

I’ve been thinking about what people said: that modern programmers should focus on becoming either domain experts or architects, because that is where a lot of the value will come from.

What would you recommend someone should study or focus on if they want to stand out from programmers who only know how to write code?

Especially in the AI era, it feels like a lot can change in the next 5 years. Writing code may become a smaller part of software engineering, while problem-solving, system design, and understanding the actual domain may become much more important. Of course, problem-solving was always important even before AI, but many people still thought that typing code was the main part of the job.

Do you agree with that view? And if yes, what area are you personally a domain expert in, or what area would you choose to become a domain expert in if you had the time to learn it deeply?

Thanks again for your perspective.

I have recently been reading about real-time programming, and I’m trying to understand what this field looks like in practice from people who have actually worked in it. I’m especially interested in the software side, because I want to work with code and C++.

I heard that real-time programming is an area that will be difficult for AI because it does not have contact with hardware. However, I am more interested in the software side because I want to work with code and C++.

Has any of you had a job that includes this, and can you tell me what the bigger picture is?

I think this is the right place to find out what it is like to work in real-time programming.

I would most like it if you said that this is a difficult job because it requires engineering thinking and AI will have a hard time replacing it, but I also like to hear the negative sides.

We often see people recommend “build a compiler,” “build a database,” “write an HTTP server,” “make a Redis clone,” or “try OS-related projects” when someone wants to go beyond normal web apps and CRUD work.

But for people who want to demonstrate real C++/systems ability, what kind of project actually stands out?

I’m thinking about projects involving C++, memory management, containers, networking, databases, compilers/interpreters, operating systems, performance, reliability, or infrastructure tooling.

Ideally, I would like to build something that real people could actually use. Even if 10 people I don’t know used the project, I would consider that a huge success.

What would make a C++/systems side project look serious to experienced developers or potential employers?

Hi everyone,

I’m 16 and still in high school, and I’m trying to make a serious decision about my future. I still have around 6 years before I would finish university, and with how fast AI is improving, I’m honestly worried that the CS job market could look completely different by then.

I love the part of computer science where you type, think, solve problems, build things, and understand how systems work. I’m one of the best students in my school, I enjoy learning, and I’m willing to study for hours if I know I’m moving in the right direction.

My brother is a senior software engineer with around 6 years of experience. He knows a lot across software engineering, DevOps, cloud, cybersecurity, and other areas, and he told me that AI may eventually replace many programming jobs. He suggested that I study math/physics because it would make me a stronger thinker, and that I could always come back to CS later and learn programming on my own.

I recently applied for a junior AI agent builder role where I could learn from experienced developers. I also made a small project where I used the Gemini API to generate a response and send it by email, and I added it to my CV. This made me even more interested in AI and software.

My question for experienced programmers and CS professionals is:

Which areas of computer science or software engineering do you think will be the hardest for AI to replace in the next 5–10+ years?

For example: backend, systems programming, cybersecurity, DevOps, cloud, AI engineering, embedded systems, data engineering, research, etc.

I’m not asking for a perfect prediction. I know nobody can know the future. I’m asking for your honest opinion based on real industry experience.

Also, since I plan to study mathematics, what fields or career paths could I work in that still have similar working conditions to software jobs — meaning jobs that are posted online, have good career growth, and can often be done remotely or hybrid?

I don’t want to waste my time. I really care about learning deeply and choosing a direction where human reasoning, creativity, responsibility, and problem-solving still matter.

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer.