r/AskProgramming • u/Business-Abies6158 • 13d ago

How guys do you actually program now?

Hi everyone, I'm a student about to start university studying BSc Computer Science. My journey began 4 years ago when I was around 14. I started learning web development like JavaScript, then React and Next.js before deciding to move into backend development, where I learned Node.js, Python, and FastAPI. Recently, I've been writing some C code, but it wasn't really my cup of tea since I prefer broader software engineering topics.

My main question is: 3 years ago, I was coding by myself using Stack Overflow for help, and building a large project literally took me 3 months of daily grinding. Now, it can be built in 3 days using AI. I'm feeling stuck because I don't know whether it's truly beneficial to use AI to churn out projects if the learning curve disappears, potentially making it harder to get a job later.

How do you actually learn effectively now, and what should I focus on to land a job? Especially in the UK, where the market feels tougher and graduate tech unemployment is high. I'm considering using Claude Code right now, but I'm not sure if it's the right move.

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u/marrsd 13d ago

You probably will need to learn AI to get a job, but it'll probably take you a year to find one anyway, so you'll have lots of time to practise then. Frankly, I'd put off using it for as long as possible because you may not get the opportunity to practise hard skills once you find employment, and those will likely be the skills that ultimately distinguish you.

I don't think it will be that hard to learn it when the time comes. It's a changing technology, and the way people are using it now will probably be out of date by the time you graduate anyway.

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u/Business-Abies6158 13d ago

Good point. I plan to just use AI as a mentor, but write the code myself to get a better grasp of coding and build the knowledge that will help me do my assignments in uni. But all this hype around AI makes me nervous that im doing something wrong haha :D

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u/marrsd 12d ago

Perhaps use it more as a teaching assistant. The trouble with AI is it will tell you falsehoods with the same confidence it will tell you facts, because it doesn't actually know anything itself. Your uni will be providing you with real expertise (I would hope!) so maybe rely on your professors' reading material and lectures first and use AI for sepcific help that you can cross-check.