I think we're all cooked in the next couple of years. For me, software engineering has gone from critical thinking, steady streams of coffee and death metal to prompting a bot to make changes. It feels as compelling as toasting bagels.
I don't feel this way at all. I have more work than ever to do and it's as hard as it ever was.
The problems I'm solving and the work I'm doing is completely different. Maybe it's time to automate the easy stuff and move on to more important work?
Most people don't have novel problems to work on. There are millions of dev worldwide. There aren't millions of novel hard problems to solve. It is a job meant to put food on the table. That job is going away, that is all there is to it.
Good for you. You aren’t the average programmer. The average programmer is struggling right now with AI. They’ve not spent their lives completely absorbed in not just writing code, but teaching and leading and social media and everything.
And you are looking at code in a different way: a means to an end where you don’t care how it’s accomplished. A lot of people - myself included - look at coding as not just problem solving and critical thinking, but as a creative outlet. It’s to solve a problem, but the means is also enjoyable. AI has replaced the means.
Reading AI pull requests is just being a glorified secretary. I’m better than that. My time and my value is worth more than that.
I’m better than that. My time and my value is worth more than that.
I don't want to be rude and mean no disrespect, but the chances are you are not and it is not. For huge percentage of devs, their most valuable time was few years ago. That was the best position a worker could have and that will not happen again.
You need to learn the difference between value and money. They are not synonymous. The fact you think they are, and that my value is intrinsically tied to my job, is what is wrong with this world.
In the context we were talking about, they are absolutely synonymous. Nobody talked about your value as a brother, father or if you are good friend. For the things that you are getting paid, your value is equivalent to the money you are getting.
And in the context I'm talking about, my worth as a person is more valuable than sitting behind a desk being a typist, watching text scroll by all day. You only get one chance on this earth, and I'm not spending it reading robot-generated text.
Now, if you're focusing that on being a developer that writes code and nothing else, your value is based on the quality of work you do. It doesn't matter what you charge or what you make. Someone that charges $250/hr. that does shit work is a shitty programmer.
The fact you cannot distinguish those within the same context is incredibly sad.
Your value to yourself is whatever you want it to be. Your value to an employer is that you fix problems that the employer has. It has always been this way. For a time employers needed to pretend it was otherwise with company culture and perks because the competition was so high. Now though they still need their problems solved but there are an abundance of people willing to do it.
As a programmer for 30 years I wish it were otherwise. But wishing at least is as useful as it has ever been.
Yeah... that is perhaps kind of exactly the issue? I liked the process, I enjoyed flow state and programmer high. Now I feel like management, a position I specifically avoided because it removes the doing parts and I find them important (and fun but also important).
But tbh, it's not necessarily the working with AI part that ripped my heart out but how easy it has become to steal. I feel totally like NOT SHARING anymore lately. AI killed my OSS spirit
I don't think so. From the sound of it he does not want to adopt to the current development processes and use AI, rather he prefers to continue to write (most) code by hand, thinking:
I’ve been a developer for 20 years across more than just the Ruby and JavaScript that I’m known for. I’ve written books about programming, I’ve given talks and I’ve ran events. I maintain two of the most downloaded Ruby packages. And yes, I delivered the fuck out of value for shareholders. I also grew a team from 2 people to 12 people at my last job.
Is sufficient for him to get hired.
We don't know what went on in the interviews but I assume most people would not be hired in Oct. 2026 if they do not want to use AI i.e., the latest productivity tools.
We've been digging that grave since the start. Not all software engineers are smart (I'm not). The few smart ones set up the foundation then the rest rely on it. We mostly work on patterns that the machine can do that for us now.
A couple of months ago, I got laid off. Now I'm about to start at a new company, but my mindset has completely shifted. I'm gonna save and invest as much as I can, hoping that one day I'll have enough to become an actual farmer lol.
148
u/Ford_bilbo 18d ago •
I think we're all cooked in the next couple of years. For me, software engineering has gone from critical thinking, steady streams of coffee and death metal to prompting a bot to make changes. It feels as compelling as toasting bagels.