Ask HN: Year old CS student. Should I continue?

Hello. I'm 17, I've loved computers since I was 5. I'm a pretty decent programmer, I've done some big projects, worked with teams on extended projects, and have a pretty decent understanding of programming/linux/networking/security/etc. I generally write C, Rust, Python, and TS. I attend a STEM school that specialises in CS and engineering, and I'm in my first year of A Levels (UK) studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics, and Computer Science. I'm on track to get As and A*s.

The plan 6 months ago was - get good grades, go to a good uni, get a CS degree while doing programming to pay for uni/do a degree apprenticeship, and go into a CS career. Without LLMs messing the world up, I think it's a pretty good plan. I'm a good programmer for my age and I'm academic.

However, with recent developments, that seems borderline foolish. I'm interested in physics and engineering, I think I could enjoy a career in either, and I've still got time to pivot to either. I might be able to write better code than GPT-10 - might - but there would surely be increased competition. I also just don't find asking a LLM in the "correct" way and having it spit out code trained on millions of other programmers interesting in the slightest. I worry that actually knowing how to write code without a LLM will go the way of knowing assembly and having intimate knowledge of a computers internals.

I'm frankly tired of hearing about LLMs, but I know that I can't just pretend they don't exist. I have less than a year to make a decision on which uni courses I apply to and I don't know whether I should abandon a sinking ship or hope it's alright and it stops here, as an aid but not something which ruins programming.

I've seen people saying "But we'll still need to translate client requirements to prompts" - 1. I doubt that'll pay well, and while that's not my primary motivation it is something to consider before committing myself, 2. I'm not interested in being a human-bullshit to AI-bullshit translator.

And yes, there's more to CS than programming, but not in a way that pays the bills. If I pivoted I'd still write code "The old fashioned way" for fun.

So: What do I do? I'd appreciate some advice.

Thanks :)

Ignore all the hype about LLMs. They will automate a lot of jobs, and become critical to others, but it will be a very long time until there is no need, or even declining need for computer science majors.

do what sounds the most fun to you. there's no clear pre-planned path with all of the answers, so enjoy what you can

> I also just don't find asking a LLM in the "correct" way and having it spit out code trained on millions of other programmers interesting in the slightest.

Think broader.

Right now our only interface to these powerful models is prompts, but this is an artifact of how we discovered them.

Future you will not be (paraphrasing) "finding the right prompt to have an LLM spit out the right code" nor "translating client requirements to prompts".

Instead you'll be letting an LLM fill in the basic details of code, syntax, systems, and propose algorithmic approaches that you pick and choose from, while you think bigger and write programs with with substantially more complexity and capability.

How this could become a less-remunerative activity I have no idea!

You might get something out of Profession, by Isaac Asimov: https://www.abelard.org/asimov.php

You could also take some classes in AI in addition to the run of the mill CS stuff.