I got into CS because programming is the only thing I have to ever been good enough at to be paid for. I don’t know if I can realistically do anything else.
I think a lot of CS students get into it because for the last ~30 years it was virtually guaranteed for you to be able to find a decent paying job shortly after graduating. It’s not an irrational decision, college is expensive and it’s not wrong for people to want to get a return on their investment, but I think these glory days are coming to an end, given all these layoffs.
It’s easy to blame AI for this, but remember that these mass software layoffs started in 2022, before ChatGPT really had a chance to take hold. I think Silicon Valley has been under a “growth at all costs” mindset, but no one really knows how to grow a business. You can get something that at least appears to be “growth” by hiring lots of people, but I think there has finally been a realization that having more employees doesn’t necessarily imply actual “growth”.
Insofar that I believe that is such thing as a “calling”, I think you should get a CS degree if you feel like you have a calling for it. If you actually enjoy math and software then CS is still a good thing to major in. I think if you’re doing it for the money those days are numbered.