25M - CS grad torn between tech career, entrepreneurship, and creatives - how did you all choose your path?

Hello everyone,

I’m writing this because I genuinely feel stuck and could really use some perspective from people who’ve been through similar phases.

I’m 25 years old. I recently completed my Master’s in Computer Science after studying in the U.S. I have about ~2 year of professional experience as a Software Engineer, mostly working with backend and cloud technologies (Java, Spring Boot, AWS, React on some projects too).

Since graduating, I’ve been aggressively job hunting but haven’t landed a full-time role yet. Because of financial pressure, I’ll likely be returning to India soon and restarting my search there.

Here’s the real struggle:

I feel pulled in too many directions at once.

I enjoy software engineering and know it’s a stable career path that can lead to a good life.

But I also feel drawn to business and startups, the idea of building something of my own.

On top of that, I’ve recently gotten serious about photography and videography. I own a DSLR with prime lenses and a drone and feel creatively fulfilled whenever I shoot.

And then there are other interests too like finance, trading, motorsports (I’m a huge F1 fan), tech trends, etc.

I feel like I’m “good” at many things but not great at any single one yet.

Every day, my mind jumps between:

• “I should commit fully to being an SDE”
• “But business = freedom”
• “But photography feels meaningful”
• “What if all these hobbies are actually my real calling?”
• “What if I waste time choosing?”

Then I spiral into comparison — seniors working at big companies, people seemingly ahead of me, even relatives who worked corporate for years and now struggle — and I wonder:

“Will that be me too?”

And I know like a so many people who are 100 times better than me being a SDE.

I also struggle with overconsuming information and social media, seeing too many success stories and opinions, which only increases my indecision.

It makes me feel like:

• I should have figured this out already by 25.
• I know enough about multiple domains that “settling” on one feels like giving up the others.
• I fear choosing wrong more than choosing nothing — so I don’t commit fully to any path.

And honestly, it’s mentally exhausting.