Why do people still choose SWE as a career path in 2026?

This is more of a question to people still trying to break in. If you're already experienced and have no other skills or recent experience, it's pretty much next to impossible to pivot out of SWE. It's either that or factory work so people (including myself) hold on for their dear life. But why is there still so many new joiners out there for a career path that's getting automated out of existence right in this moment? How can you look at the recent AI advancements and think that everything will be fine, commit yourself to studying and keep trying to break in?

I'm not saying this field will disappear completely, but most of the current workforce is pretty much redundant at this point, yet subs like this are pretty much BAU? It's bizarre.