Hasn’t that happened already? As someone who started coding a long time ago and who did it for fun, I’ve seen the industry move from enthusiasts to mainstream and finally to massive comp optimisers who spend more time on angling for a promotion than building.
I’ve fallen in and out of enjoyment of engineering many times. But I still come back because I love making something that adds value.
There will always be space for the builders who give a shit.
As someone who has needed to hire quite a few developers, I will say that the biggest communality of the greatest software engineers are those who are in it for fun. So I ask about side projects, I ask about what they did as kids, I ask about what they're excited about... Someone who is just there for the money can be great in a bigger company but has no place in a startup.
I like to be passionate about what I am doing, but there's plenty of great projects / companies to work for. So might as well look after the money, too.
(Generally, the companies that can afford to pay you well, are also those that can afford to treat you well.)
I’ve fallen in and out of enjoyment of engineering many times. But I still come back because I love making something that adds value.
There will always be space for the builders who give a shit.