this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2024
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I'm a computer engineering undergrad in my finals and I really don't care about applying for jobs, there's so much competition and I hate just about every one of my classmates. I don't want to spend hours making shitty bloated proprietary software but 99% of jobs seem to be like that. Is it possible to actually make a career in free software, should I just ditch out of tech and pick something else

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[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Straight up, you need to be good, lucky, tenacious, and driven. There are many good opensource devs out there that have to work in corporate jobs. You might be cut from the right cloth, who knows, but it isn't going to be a cake walk.

There's definitely no shame in going another route and making money doing something else you like. Trade jobs are an option of course and probably well paid too. Unless you're 60 or older, it's not too late to switch.

Honestly though, I'd give it a shot first before quitting altogether. Try and follow your dreams so that at least you will know what it's like.

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[–] ericjmorey@programming.dev 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

FYI, software development is considered a trade job by the US Department of Labor.

[–] MajorHavoc@programming.dev 2 points 6 months ago

Shhhh. We're allowed to call ourselves engineers on Thursdays, if we eat all our vegetables. /s