Get a job, get very very good at doing your job, then find a new job right before you start to feel like you're coasting. Don't worry too much about optimizing

Get a job, get very very good at doing your job, then find a new job right before you start to feel like you're coasting. Don't worry too much about optimizing for the best company, niche, tech stack, whatever. Focus on getting a breadth of knowledge, learning how businesses operate and how you contribute to their profit centers (great advice here: https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-programmer/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2011/10/28/dont-call-yourself-a-pr...), how to work well with people, and various approaches to software design. Keep an open mind (fight overzealousness in your opinions) and approach your work with a positive attitude and you will see all kinds of opportunities to specialize present themselves. Then, your hardest decision will be which specialization creates the most leverage for you. Don't get bogged down by AI, mass layoffs, or any of the other doomsaying. If you're made to feel fearful, it's because someone is trying to profit off you. I am a self-taught developer so take all my advice with a grain of salt ;)