[themodelplumber]

> With uncertainty in the role of software engineering because of current market and it potentially being automated

This is FAR from given. Super far. I'm sorry to say that you may have to study psychology to understand why in a way that makes you go "holy sh*".

But I get the general reasons for the uncertainty, they are usually about "please welcome your exciting new replacement" concerns. Which _can_ be a thing in some cases, already have been, and so on.

> Are there even any field in software engineering/development where the core knowledge has remained true over the course of years?

Not to be disagreeable, but the core principles are generally always reliable (true|belief|etc I don't really go there with principles in tech especially) even if aspects have changed. It's still really applicable in sign painting which I do myself sometimes as a hobby. And then it's pretty wild but the same principles translate exactly into digital signage.

> Apparently, no one pays for someone who knows only the fundamentals.

No, BUT it's not a dichotomy:

- Know the fundamentals only

OR

- Know the specific new hot practicals

...it's way more than that. You can still lean to the fundamentals side and get paid well! Part of doing that involves really interesting stuff, which can be described as "developing my/the new fundamentals." (Adding the "my" part because it also can just be scoped to what you need to know to be effective at your job, it doesn't have to be discovery of some universal fundamental, and you will get recognized more easily for focusing on $JOB's details anyway)

A lot of people enjoy this part of their career in tech, and it helps them find a relatively peaceful psych-interface through which to be more OK with the ADHD-style new & changey particulars stuff.

Also sometimes it's a matter of social interface. It may be a matter of describing yourself so that people understand what you're good at, and making sure not to focus on describing what you don't like, or hate, in your career.

> Another example is AI is like a rat race going in circles and trying to catch up with the latest ideas.

This is a good example of what I'm talking about. If you can just dissect your experience a little further, you might find that it can divide up into e.g. "stuff I personally think and like about AI" and "what everybody else does and thinks with it (rat race)".

If you keep working on the former, you can eventually build some really cool community bridges and in ANY case, you'll still probably be way ahead of the people who want to pay you to interface with AI for them! Their fear of tech will never really end. Find those people. Tell them you get AI. Or whatever excites you. Get a job, get paid, enjoy.

Just some ideas & good luck.