Can you Truly Know that you are in the Right Path?

I have seen many people discussing online and people I know in real life having doubts about if the path they are pursuing is right for them. This ranges from having doubts about which classes they are taking for future semesters to professional careers. The one I want to talk about specifically is the Computer Science Related Path.

There are many answers to this, but it makes me wonder how can we truly know we are on the right path to success?

One thing I know for sure in my opinion is if you are only chasing money, it can only get you far, but not enough. For example, I have heard people pursuing in CS because of money back in 2020. However, I have seen that 99% of the time they only do the bare minimum (only passing classes) and only doing things that are required. As a result, they have a hard time finding a job because of the lack of "passion" they show in the resume and other factors.

Surprisingly, this goes the same with those that genuinely enjoyed the CS field. One of my friends demonstrated this since he really liked coding back in High School and pursue CS, been creating projects, and contributing to Open Source. However, they also have a hard time finding a job (I think).

This could be the result of the Job Market for Computer Science since we see that trend in the current job market. However, I have seen people getting SWE jobs just fine. It makes me wonder:

• Is luck based on factors on where we are applying to? If you apply to the US in general, your odds are low. However, if you apply to a specific area (like Chicago for example), maybe your luck increases?


• How do we know if we are in the right path to success? One person with a lack of content in their Resume can get a SWE while the other (with a lot of projects and prior experience) does not. I have seen this happen time and time again throughout my experience so far.


• Speaking on the right path, I have seen people having a passion in CS, but later changed their careers later on regardless of their passion and enjoyment in that field. Why is that?

I feel like, in my opinion, we are using the rejections from the companies as a measuring tool to determine if we are caught up in the SWE field. I am wondering what you guys think about this and how we truly know we are in the right path?