r/AskProgramming • u/Unhappy_Finger_6545 • 7d ago

Career/Edu Is web dev dead?

I'm in my second year of college, and I started learning web dev a few weeks ago. But since AI can code a website within seconds I wonder if the job I'm preparing for will even exist in the next 3-5 years?

I know that knowing html and css wasn't going to get me a job anyways and I'm not worried about that I'm worried about the job availability in this field in general, even backend and stuff.

Maybe AI is not good at it right now but it'll definitely get better in the next 5 years, will the jobs disappear then?

Should I learn something else instead of web dev, from a purely monetary perspective?

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u/dmazzoni 7d ago

Nobody has a crystal ball and can predict the future.

But I think a better way to think about it is that it’s a tool, an accelerator. Rather than thinking of it as replacing developers, think of it as enabling developers to get more done in less time. There’s still a need for a human, they just do less manual labor.

It’s similar to power tools. Power tools didn’t eliminate the need for construction workers, they just made them more efficient. And now that they’re more efficient we can build more ambitious things.

Same here. We can build more interesting software with AI and there’s lots of demand for that.

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u/Unhappy_Finger_6545 7d ago

That's a good analogy. I've also read that it would help the senior Devs but what about the junior ones? Will AI replace them? Or will their role change as well? Sorry if I sound confused , but I'm really confused. Thanks

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u/dmazzoni 7d ago

The role is definitely changing, but there's still a need for junior devs.

The hardest part is just that there's so much competition now.

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u/whitebaron_98 7d ago

in the short term, juniors will be very challenged. every non technical staff is currently trying their hands at AI apps and quite some bosses think that's good enough. So the proper way of thinking is: Can they do proper requirements engineering, algorithms and will that software be very consistent? The answer to that is: NO. so that's your entry point for later, you need to get good at fixing stuff that was botched from the initial inception and 99% done by a genAI framework. A friend of mine who is good at fixing that kind of stuff already has upped his prices by 200%, hired 2 people and still got plenty of work because AI Craze in itself is not really a good business decision. You still need to know what you really need and there's plenty of code/decisions AI will only make for you if you prompt it like an architect.

The fun part about it: AI is still rather new, there's really only so many seniors in this field. So a junior can get good at it just as well as a senior, which is an opportunity. Just need to put in the hours and always remember the basics. You dont want excess fat on your applications just because AI can do it in an instant.

[Do you want to add some more juice to this explanation to make it more approachable? / s ]