Typically, having good reasons would precede encouragement.<p>Why should they choose software engineering as a career? Isn&#x27;t it a miserable occupation for many without independent interest in the field? Don&#x27;t many end up regretting it, having been goaded into it by overbearing parents, the promise of financial security, or a political movement to redistribute power from one faction to others? Doesn&#x27;t the practical argument, that it&#x27;s a good job, get weaker with each CS degree newly awarded?<p>Writing software will become a necessary skill for people with primary knowledge of other domains. The market is soon to be super-saturated with generic &quot;software engineers,&quot; most of them unprepared to do anything more than plumb Java business software or glue together knick-knack web apps. I would encourage these children to find an interest in the world at large, and let the software follow if needed.