IT Professional vs. Content Writer: Which is the best option? Guys, please help me decide my career path.

I know for a fact that in the initial days of my career, I need to work extremely hard (at least 80 hours per week) to prove my credibility and worth in any industry. I only fear living my life on others’ terms and doing something I don’t truly enjoy. Currently, I’m an intermediate full-stack developer pursuing a Master’s in Computer Applications (MCA).

I will be dead honest with you guys, but I entered this coding field due to the fascination and fantasies attached to it and wasn't pressured by my parents. Initially, when I started to learn to code, I was enjoying it, but I was getting frustrated at the same time. I loved the feeling of creating things from scratch—like building my own website using just HTML and CSS and then progressing to develop a full-stack e-commerce application with the MERN stack. However, debugging issues used to frustrate me, especially since there weren’t AI tools like ChatGPT to simplify the process at that time.

While I do still enjoy computer science as a subject, I am now thinking about reconsidering my career choice and shifting to content writing after talking to a few IT professionals irl and how their managers own their time. The other reason that I am considering shifting to content writing is that writing is something that comes more naturally to me compared to coding. I have written a few blogs during the COVID-19 lockdown and for each topic, I had to research it and it used to take me 3-4 days of sleepless nights, but I thoroughly enjoyed the process. (Even at the time of writing this post I am enjoying the writing and thinking part of it.). I loved the creative freedom and the ability to contribute my unique perspective to those blog articles. I even tried technical writing, where I explained coding concepts on platforms like Hashnode and DEV.to, which was enjoyable. Many people liked my work, though, at that time, I didn’t focus on crucial technical aspects like SEO optimization to reach a targeted audience. Even as a child, I used to enjoy writing stories, and my peers used to enjoy it but I left it due to societal and academic pressure.

In coding, when I am comparing myself to other pro-coders I have realized that it comes naturally to them while I often have to push harder to learn new things. The only reason that I am not leaving to code as of now is that it provides better job security compared to content writing and it pays you relatively well (at least initially) as compared to content writing. I am considering switching to content writing because as I told you it comes naturally to me, it has a low barrier of entry, and you own your time as well as the flexibility to work on your own terms as a majority of content writers tend to do freelance work.

I understand that, whichever path I choose, I’ll face moments of self-doubt, frustration, and burnout (though I don’t glorify it) in the early days as I establish my reputation in my chosen industry. Ultimately, my main goal is to own my time, be my own boss, and provide a good life for my parents and future children. I’m 23, from a typical middle-class background, and I don’t want my kids to face the same struggles. I want to be financially secure enough to shield them from life’s harsh realities and afford them an education in elite schools. I want them to have the freedom to pursue their passions, as long as it’s legal and doesn’t harm others.

Based on the inputs that I provided what do you guys think is best for me?