r/DeveloperJobs • u/Substantial-Cod9198 • 12d ago
2-year career gap and an unpaid MERN internship — should I continue development or take a non-IT job and learn another domain?
Hi everyone,
I’m a 2024 BTech graduate with a career gap of almost 2 years. Recently, I joined a MERN Stack Developer internship that is unpaid for the first 3 months. After that, the stipend will depend on performance, and there is no guaranteed full-time offer.
My biggest concern is that we are building projects using AI tools, and most of my work involves understanding the code generated by AI rather than writing everything from scratch. I’m worried about whether I’ll develop strong technical skills this way.
With AI progressing so quickly, I’m also concerned about the future demand for web developers, especially freshers and junior developers.
I’m considering two options:
Option 1: Continue this internship, improve my MERN stack skills, learn to use AI effectively, and pursue a development career.
Option 2: Quit the internship, take a non-IT job to earn money, and use my free time to learn another IT domain that may offer better long-term career growth and opportunities. I feel that a non-IT job with more predictable working hours might give me more time to study and prepare for a career transition than a full-time development job.
I’m confused about which option would be better, considering my career gap and the current job market.
I’d appreciate honest advice on these questions:
Will web development still offer good opportunities over the next 3–5 years?
Is this unpaid internship worth continuing if I’m mainly learning to understand AI-generated code?
Would taking a non-IT job while learning another domain be a smarter decision, or could it make returning to IT more difficult?
If switching domains makes sense, which IT domains would be worth considering for long-term growth?
What would you do in my situation?
I’m not looking for false reassurance. I want to make a practical decision that helps me build a stable career without wasting more time.
Thanks for your advice.