It sounds like you're going to school with much more of a professional interest than an academic interest in software. In other words, you belong more in Software Engineering classes than Computer Science classes.

I got a BS in CS with an AI specialization about 10 years ago and the AI part resulted in absolutely nothing professionally, even though I applied to just as many AI jobs as non-AI. I don't regret it though, because the classes interested me deeply on an academic level and going to college wasn't solely about career prep for me.

Python ... seems to be something that is not used as a standard backbone language for more enterprise level businesses

This is just flat out incorrect. Sure, very few enterprise programs are built entirely with Python, but many have components written in Python (especially in web), and Python is also a popular choice for build scripts and other internal software development tools. Python makes the process of going from idea to working program faster than any other language, which the bean counters like, so trust me, you will see Python everywhere in the industry.

One last thing, we are 110% approaching another AI winter because businessmen oversold each other on what language models are capable of and now they're all getting super pessimistic about AI. So unless it's something you're passionate about, maybe look elsewhere...

I'd lean towards the Software Development track, partly because that's my background, and partially because it sounds like it would offer a better foundation in development fundamentals. I suspect AI is going to change significantly over the next couple of decades, so I suspect it would be less future proof.

Am I crazy for doing this later in life?

No. The best time to plant a tree is fifty years ago, the second best time is now.

When you get into development shops, you should discover that you're promoted based on merit (if not, run). If that's the case, use your maturity, and you'll hopefully be able to progress quickly.

By using your maturity, I mean: have empathy for the user, focus on the most important parts of your project first, and speak up when you encounter problems. When I was a fresh dev, I focused on what was technically feasible, did the easy parts first, and tried to fight through problems on my own.

I'm gonna go ahead and agree with the other comments.

I'm gonna ignore any future projections on where both fields are headed, but basically if you would apply for them rn, software development leaves the nature of your future job out in the open and basically opens you up with a huge number of opportunities.

The AI one sounds cool too, but as someone who works in a company focused on research in CS-related fields, I can tell you the skillset you are required to have in order to implement AIs in any way is vastly different from software development. You lean even more into math, things stay more theoretical and academic a lot of the time and AI also forces you to think more unconventional and counter-intuitively. Now this is not in itself a bad thing, but it does narrow you down to that very specific field and it does not sound like you wanna dig yourself down another rabbit hole of a profession.

Only do AI if you are really keen to do it and you are happy even if you might be stuck in that specific field later on.

TL;DR go software development. AI doesn't sound like a fit for you from what I could gather.

P.s. you can always fuck with AIs in your free time if you want. That's more fun anyway.

I've been a software developer for well almost two decades now. I started in tech support and worked my way up. I originally majored in music in university. I dropped out, took some tech classes, but decided college life was not for me. I worked in restaurants for years, and finally got back into IT starting as low-level tech support in the early 2000s. I finally got my bachelor's degree (to get a visa to live here in Japan more than anything else), at age 34.

I would lean toward Option 1. Some of our AI and ML folks can do really neat things in Python, but have issues making it work with anything else in our system. There are also other languages that are getting more libraries and abilities to do what has long been in Python. If you go for option 2, I would supplement with other languages, database, UI, etc. for making a more well-rounded portfolio.

That said, my question is: what do you want to do? What do you want to make and build, or is it just about the money? This kinda informs the answers to what you should do.

Higher levels of IT often involve continuous education to stay competent and competitive. You will be left behind if you don't at least keep up vaguely with new technologies, methodologies, etc. Some people enjoy that part, but it is something of a chore to me.

First of all, congrats on pursuing a career change, many are afraid to do so, that makes me believe that any path you choose you will find a way to make it work for you!

You don't need a degree to pursue a computer science career, it's common practise within the field to do so, and most companies/teams/interviewers don't really care. I don't want to imply that a degree or higher education has no value, on the contrary it can be a great opportunity to focus on the fundamentals and experiment with many different subjects. However, that depends on you, the field is ever changing and most colleges/universities aren't doing a great job keeping up. That's why, if you want to go that route, you need to not be afraid to lay off the path laid by the program and specialize on your interests.

I would suggest AI if you like data science, it's a broad subject ranging from working numbers on excel day in day out, to producing complex mathematical formulas to explain how a model is able to predict something considered impossible for humans. Don't be discouraged because it's a buzzword, it's true; everyone is doing it and most are selling snake oil or worse, but there are still some really interesting/fascinating real world applications.

Application development is a far broader subject, but the vast majority of it is pretty limited and standsrdized. It's the domain of most developers out there and it can range from really interesting to soul crashing boredom. If you change jobs often enough and keep learning, it can be a really rewarding path, you can make decent money (100k-300k) and you will never lose interest. Each application you work on has a domain, and you will learn a tonne about it. For me, it has been fish farming, betting, and program analysis.

Keep in mind that choosing a track is not restricting for your career, you can make changes in little to no time. Sometimes you accept a new job that seems a little out of your area of comfort, or you start helping out a colleague and slowly switch to a new role, or you just read an article and decide you want to do that.

Last but not least, the specific technologies are not important, but the time you finish they will be obsolete anyway. However, the skills you will gain while learning them, will be highly transferable. Once you learn your 3rd language there is no language you can learn within a few days.

PS if you are in it for the money, just go do a JavaScript 6month bootcamp and get a six figure salary.

If you need to crowdsource this decision do not go to college immediately.

College is expensive as fuck, and it is wasted on someone who doesn’t have a burning desire to be there for a specific course of study.

Instead, go live the life of a person without a degree. Just be a human for a while, and learn how to the world works. Then go to college.

If you go to college without a clear mission, you’re going to be twiddling your thumbs in a place that costs more than continuous international travel. Like, go travel internationally if you want a mind-expanding experience of self discovery. That will help you pick a major.

I say this as someone who went to college “as my destiny”. I went to college because it was always assumed I would go. I wasted time, money, energy, and opportunity by doing so.

College used to be a place to find yourself. Then it started costing five figures per year, and it became a place you go to get what you need to make more money. That’s what it still is, and will continue to be until it becomes inexpensive again.

Traveling the world, staying in hostels, learning bits of languages, meeting other travelers and locals, getting a little month to month apartment and waiting tables in a foreign city, partying with the locals, getting involved in whatever they’re doing, this is cheaper than college, and far more valuable, if you’re at a place where you don’t know which degree you want.

I know it takes a lot of courage to buck the trend and do what all the (foolish) grey-haired people in your life are doing.

But trust me. College is a different thing than it used to be, specifically because it got super fucking expensive.

College stopped being casual, and started being a very serious thing, and in that way it changed fundamentally from a place of exploration into a place of industry. It is not a place to fuck around. I mean, it is, but not wisely. There are far cheaper, far better places to explore yourself and the world.