In this video, I break down how to become a software engineer in 2024, especially if you’re starting with zero experience. 2023 was a wild year—layoffs, over-hiring correction, and nonstop generative AI breakthroughs—so it’s normal to ask if SWE is still “worth it.” From my own experience going through multiple rounds of layoffs, I’ll be honest: the anxiety is real. But I’ve also seen companies spin up brand-new generative AI initiatives and hire engineers to build productivity tooling (code completion, code review helpers, internal AI tools). Overall, I still think the direction is positive, and new opportunities will keep showing up. Then I get practical about what to learn. I explain two ways to choose a path: (1) go with the most popular/in-demand route like full-stack JavaScript (tons of roles, tons of competition, but also tons of openings), or (2) pick “high demand but not enough engineers” niches where replacements are harder—like Android (Kotlin) and backend/infrastructure with Go. I also mention Julia as a “watch this space” language in ML/scientific computing. Finally, I talk about degree vs bootcamp vs self-learning, and why continuous learning matters even more now: AI tools can be helpful, but they lack depth unless you already know what “good” looks like.