First off: as you'll gather from HN, career prospects for software developers aren't what they used to be. And even for better-experienced ones, their job might move from develop/bughunting to writing specs, review code, "prompt engineering" & set up AI agents to write code for them. Or more management / sales related.
You may want to consider doing some 'low-profile' (but decent paying) job to pay the bills, with side gigs/hobbies you do 100% for fun. As so many people do.
Small or big company? Difficult choice, I'd think it's more important to find one whose company culture (& goals) fits you best. Or go freelance - which has its own pros & cons.
Have you ever considered a career in science? There's still many things unexplored, and new fields opening up. Or related like engineering (civil engineering? Bridge design etc), architecture (of buildings ;-)
The main point is motivation. Get clear for yourself the "why" for pursuing something.
Oh and stick around on HN! Many geat ideas pass by here. Good luck!
You may want to consider doing some 'low-profile' (but decent paying) job to pay the bills, with side gigs/hobbies you do 100% for fun. As so many people do.
Small or big company? Difficult choice, I'd think it's more important to find one whose company culture (& goals) fits you best. Or go freelance - which has its own pros & cons.
Have you ever considered a career in science? There's still many things unexplored, and new fields opening up. Or related like engineering (civil engineering? Bridge design etc), architecture (of buildings ;-)
The main point is motivation. Get clear for yourself the "why" for pursuing something.
Oh and stick around on HN! Many geat ideas pass by here. Good luck!