First of all, congrats on pursuing a career change, many are afraid to do so, that makes me believe that any path you choose you will find a way to make it work for you!
You don’t need a degree to pursue a computer science career, it’s common practise within the field to do so, and most companies/teams/interviewers don’t really care. I don’t want to imply that a degree or higher education has no value, on the contrary it can be a great opportunity to focus on the fundamentals and experiment with many different subjects. However, that depends on you, the field is ever changing and most colleges/universities aren’t doing a great job keeping up. That’s why, if you want to go that route, you need to not be afraid to lay off the path laid by the program and specialize on your interests.
I would suggest AI if you like data science, it’s a broad subject ranging from working numbers on excel day in day out, to producing complex mathematical formulas to explain how a model is able to predict something considered impossible for humans. Don’t be discouraged because it’s a buzzword, it’s true; everyone is doing it and most are selling snake oil or worse, but there are still some really interesting/fascinating real world applications.
Application development is a far broader subject, but the vast majority of it is pretty limited and standsrdized. It’s the domain of most developers out there and it can range from really interesting to soul crashing boredom. If you change jobs often enough and keep learning, it can be a really rewarding path, you can make decent money (100k-300k) and you will never lose interest. Each application you work on has a domain, and you will learn a tonne about it. For me, it has been fish farming, betting, and program analysis.
Keep in mind that choosing a track is not restricting for your career, you can make changes in little to no time. Sometimes you accept a new job that seems a little out of your area of comfort, or you start helping out a colleague and slowly switch to a new role, or you just read an article and decide you want to do that.
Last but not least, the specific technologies are not important, but the time you finish they will be obsolete anyway. However, the skills you will gain while learning them, will be highly transferable. Once you learn your 3rd language there is no language you can learn within a few days.
PS if you are in it for the money, just go do a JavaScript 6month bootcamp and get a six figure salary.
The question is a bit misleading but I understand the desired output is an ordering of the children based on the information provided and our own personal values.
I will start with some thoughts on each child:
If they are not doing anything while waiting to be accepted, then they got to work on themselves. They could be starting personal projects, learning new things, exploring new hobbies, volunteering… whatever being frozen like that feels sad.
They are true to themselves, and I applaud them for that.
No problem with working for the mob, there are far worse things they could be doing.
I would need to know their intent behind what they are doing, ethics are not black and white, maybe they see some merit to their endeavours and maybe they are right in the end. The specific example would send them to the very bottom of my list (ACAB).
I am willing to bet there is a phobia for that, I would try to give them the support they need to find their calling.
I am not against progress, it’s not their fault that people will lose their jobs. In the first place it wouldn’t have been an issue if people weren’t so dependent on our capitalistic overlords.
They are taking a break, it makes sense to me, keep it up pall, in no time you would be finding new ways to create a better world for all of us.
Overall, I feel the descriptions are too judgy, people are doing the best they can, and you got to give them that.
If I had to choose a single child I would go with #7.
well, I usually roll a few cigarettes for the road, put directions on Google maps, and adjust my seating/coffee/whatever else I need to be comfortable. In total it takes a minute or two.
I have seen communities where every member is a mod. In order to enter the community a vote takes hold that decides if you can be a member. The decision is usually based on a majority ruling, but veto power is granted to every member.
The idea is that you can find the community online since it’s public, petition for your membership presenting your argument and other social media accounts you have.
Then, members judge if you are going to be a suitable member of the community, if you are going to respect the rules of the community, and cast their votes. Often participation is low on votes, someone vouches for you and a few other people review your accounts to make sure you are not a threat.
Sometimes there is a probation period where you have some power like posting on the community but are not fully fledged mod. Other times you become a mod from the start.
Banning members sometimes is necessary, the process needs to be more strict, maybe set participation requirements and allow for enough time for anyone to cast their votes.
It’s important to keep in mind that allowing everyone to weigh in on decisions does mean they are going to, most people don’t have the context or the time to, but the community needs to remain functional. For these reasons, vote rulings need to be decided on participation and not body size.
Last but not least, my experience is that those communities are much more pleasant and productive to participate in. Not being doxxed on every comment you make, and people actually making an effort to understand your argument, is a game changer.
This question reminded me of the Dr Stone anime. The premise is that a wave turns everyone into marble, several thousands years later a young scientist is unfrozen and uses science to restore society to its former state.
Also, I wonder what the effects of long term exposure to EMP would be to life on earth. Since most neurological systems use electromagnetic waves maybe they are impacted?
Another interesting question would be if there would be a way to work around the EMP. For example, would a Faraday cage work to allow electronics to work inside it? Or maybe electronics are improved to work under the effect of EMP? Like how the CPUs have bit correction algorithms because of random bit flips that occur due to solar flares.
Last but not least, in such a situation my plan would be to go as far away as possible, since there will be food shortages, being in an area where you can forage for food or hunt animals would be a priority. Then, I would probably die eating something poisonous. If I survive long enough to set up a farm, I would probably survive the next 10 years or so until I die of old age at 35 the new average life expectancy.