As far as fields you should focus on--well, first make sure you work hard, learn Python, C++, Java, along with the usual web development stuff like Javascript and CSS. I'm going through a phase where I only want to do web apps and APIs, and I'm using Python and SQLite for my backend.

And really have a good handle on at least those things. It seems like every day someone else comes in here asking if there's any point to learning programming or getting a CS degree because everything is AI generated now. Even if you do use AI to generate code, you're going to want to at least have enough skill to review code, troubleshoot, and code logic. AI can't replace ideas, so you need to be a creative person who likes learning new things all the time. If you're lucky enough to land a big job in the programming field, mostly what you'll do is maintaining/updating legacy code.

Here's where I am right now: I never took any courses, never got a degree. My master's degree is in music composition. I specialized in electronic music, so I had a close relationship with analog and digital synths and computers. Taught myself PureData, which was my gateway drug into other languages. I tried Swift and Objective C, just couldn't get a handle on it, then started messing around with Python. And that's what clicked!!! I was writing MIDI schedulers almost right away. My son wanted to do neural networks for a science project, so I learned TensorFlow. I got a job with a library where the cataloging department had a huge backlog. I wrote UI macro scripts to streamline copy-cataloging (copying external bibliographic records, importing them into the ILS, and adding items locally), moved a few thousand books, got fired because "nobody can possibly catalog that fast, not even our in-house cataloger." Got a job at a snack manufacturing plant, threw together some quick-and-dirty Swift code to develop an iPhone app to estimate how much product to make to fill orders, track where we were in production, and alert us when the run was completed. Nobody asked me to do that, but my boss noticed. I did some other things (organization/planning kinds of things) to streamline our workflow, reduce down time, reduce waste, achieve tighter USDA compliance, and improve efficiency. I've never worked in a plant in my life, it's just these kinds of things are instinctive. And I think it goes back to problem-solving in computer programming, plus how I'm used to approaching repetitive tasks from studying music, solving problems in music creation, and organizing/managing space from teaching high school music (band, general music). I don't like that I've bounced from job to job so quickly and had bad luck in music, but damnit I'm GOOD and I'm TALENTED. lol.

And here's the point: Employers NOTICE. Working to a high standard in an environment where people are control freaks and suspicious of anyone who shows above-average intelligence and/or talent will get you fired, which isn't entirely a bad thing. But move into the commercial world and use that mindset to make things better? That will get you a raise. So I'm about to move up from "cook" to...well, we're not sure yet, but basically inventory. I'll have more free time, so rather than slave over spreadsheets, I'm going to use my time to build a database and write Python to automate and manage it. Then I'm going to build a browser front end so anyone can interact with it, and MAYBE write something that will help us monitor raw materials consumption in real time.

You want to play a real game? Attack where the enemy isn't. In other words, you're headed for a world dominated by senior devs who think entry level jobs are being made redundant by AI. Don't play that game. Get in on the ground floor, blend in amongst your general labor and trade school grads, get callouses on your hands, then write some code to make everyone's life easier and boost efficiency. My main goal is to cut costs. So we'll see what happens!