r/careerquestions

V

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well.

Currently, I’m a .NET developer with around 4 years of experience. However, I’ve always been a lazy person when it comes to learning, and I’ve never really been a self-learner. Because of that, I feel like things are getting worse for me.

To be honest, I was never really interested in programming from the beginning. Somehow, I got my first job before I even finished university because the company was a startup at that time, and I was able to get the opportunity.

Now, with how quickly AI is evolving and how fast everything is changing, I feel like people who aren’t continuously learning are going to fall behind.

The company I work for was doing quite well last year, but things have changed a lot this year. A lot of projects have been lost or affected because of AI. There are currently no new projects coming in, and around 8 employees have been laid off in the last 3 months. One of them was even a team leader.

Two other senior developers are also planning to leave in December because their contracts are ending and they don’t want to continue working here.

My company is service-based. They get clients through platforms like Upwork, and we work on those projects.

Financially, I’m doing fine, Alhamdulillah. The company is also happy with my performance and is willing to promote me to a team leader position.

However, there are some strict policies that I’m not comfortable with, such as a 5-year contract and a 50-lakh security cheque. The office timing is also not ideal. Officially, it’s from 2 PM to 11 PM, but most of the time it extends until around midnight.

I’m also experiencing some health issues because of this work environment, so I don’t want to stay here long-term.

But this is where my real problem starts.

I’m naturally quite lazy when it comes to learning, and I don’t consider myself a self-learner. Because of that, I sometimes feel like I’m simply not built for programming.

However, I’ve always loved video games. So I’m thinking about moving into the gaming industry and eventually becoming a 3D artist.

Even before university, I had a hobby of creating anime and video game character art, both on paper and digitally. I’ve always enjoyed the artistic side of things.

I’ve also tried Blender. I created a few low-poly models and even completed the famous Blender donut tutorial. I actually enjoyed doing it.

I currently have around one year left before my contract ends, and I don’t want to continue working here after that because the work culture and environment are affecting my health.

At the same time, I’m losing motivation for programming, especially with how quickly AI is changing the tech industry.

So I’d really appreciate some honest advice:

What do you think I should do?

Should I continue with programming and force myself to improve, even though I don’t feel motivated and have never really enjoyed learning it?

Or should I use this remaining year to seriously explore 3D art and potentially transition into the gaming/3D industry?

I’m not planning to quit immediately. I have around one year to prepare, so I want to use that time wisely and make sure I’m not making an emotional decision.

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have experience in programming, 3D art, game development, or career transitions.

Thanks in advance!