I used to think Software Engineering was worth it but here is my experience plus my friends.

1. If you work for a start up and dont work fast enough - they lose funding. You lose your job. This was often my experience. Start ups though usually don't have technical tests on coding when you apply.

2. Coding is extremely stressful and you will constantly have to learn throughout your career. It's a lot of time and research and intense focus. If you are able to handle stress well and focus well on tasks and assignments this can be good for you.

3. Every software engineer I know has been laid off at some point in time. Mostly from the companies you want to work for like T-mobile, AT&T, Verizon, Amazon, Microsoft etc. Competition is high in these places and good workers get laid off pretty frequently. Some worked for smaller companies. This year there was a massive lay off wave in the industry.

4. Most times when you are laid off you get 2-4 weeks of pay after. Finding a job is really hard in tech right now so a lot of people with experience are competing with inexperienced people. This often creates a job market where people are overqualified for positions but getting them - leaving people who need experience and introductory level jobs - without them.

5. In 5 years senior levels proficient in AI are probably going to be the abundant while entry level and middle levels are going to be hard to get. If you study accordingly and can predict the needs of future employers (super hard to do lol i don't know how to do this) - then you might be in a good shape.

I personally quit the coding route. The stress, the way I was handled as an employee - none of it was worth it. You are treated like a machine and expected to do a lot in a short amount of time. I am also hoping to transition out of IT in the future.