I think you should try a few different things out before you judge all software engineering jobs. There’s a big variety.

As for “making shitty bloated proprietary software” that only really applies to the really big tech companies and banks etc… Most dev jobs are about using code to solve a problem. I’ve worked in lots of small companies and we use open source software almost exclusively. If there’s anything you write that you think could be useful as an open source project, they’ll generally let you spin it out into a standalone library and you can spend some of your working time on that. The company benefits from increased visibility and can be a “thought leader” at conferences etc if it takes off. Definitely worth asking about that in the interview though, since different companies will have different philosophies around it.

You could end up working for a company that develops free software so that’s one way. My company develops an open source science tool and it’s free for anyone to hack on, run their own copy, and use for commercial purposes, but we sell support which usually seems to involve being paid to develop certain features and fix certain bugs, as well as advise on how to keep their system running smoothly.

It’s extraordinarily difficult to make a living in it unless you luck out and start a project that is extraordinary popular from the get go and even then you have to be more skilled than all the copycats. I’m running the only Foss ai api and I’m barely covering costs even though we have thousands of users 🤷

A lot of sectors need custom software and some of them have a mission more noble than profits. Government, education, science, culture… IT jobs in non-tech places can be rewarding too and you’ll get to have plenty of colleagues that aren’t your classmates. Being knowledgeable about various open source software can be valuable as well career wise.

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Straight up, you need to be good, lucky, tenacious, and driven. There are many good opensource devs out there that have to work in corporate jobs. You might be cut from the right cloth, who knows, but it isn’t going to be a cake walk.

There’s definitely no shame in going another route and making money doing something else you like. Trade jobs are an option of course and probably well paid too. Unless you’re 60 or older, it’s not too late to switch.

Honestly though, I’d give it a shot first before quitting altogether. Try and follow your dreams so that at least you will know what it’s like.

Anti Commercial-AI license

I’m paid to do a mix of open and closed source coding. Rather, I manage a team who do, and I still code because I’m a stubborn bastard.

I’ve been at this for decades, and had to carefully and willfully craft a space to open-source work from my team that makes sense to share.

I did a lot of closed source coding on the way to this point in my career.

At the end of the day, my open source commits will outlive me, but my closed source commits put food on the table.

I understand you may feel conflicted about your prospects about the current job market and the conditions of the industry in general, but it isn’t all bad.

Like other people said here, before throwing the towel try some things. Some domains may be “better” for your end goal than others - say, if you’d like to contribute to the Linux kernel, maybe you should try getting a job that is “closer to the metal”, maybe working on performance in some PaaS?

Different companies and industries have way different cultures, some that may be better aligned with your personality. In my personal experience, I always felt like I had more autonomy both over the software and the projects in smaller companies. Heard some people mention a similar sense of cultural fit in bigger, “hard” tech-focused companies (e. G. Embedded software), so once again, I recommend you experiment.

You most likely will benefit from the experience, and it may be a good stepping stone towards your end goal. Your day job does not define what you do and who you are, so you don’t need to assume that it’s 100% Foss or nothing, there are many possible paths in between, like other people have suggested here.