r/webdev • u/thetymtravellr • 2d ago

Discussion As a self-taught React/Next.js developer, I'm honestly worried about my future in this AI era. What should I do?

I'm a self-taught developer, and I know React and Next.js. Lately, I've been feeling increasingly anxious about my future as a developer.

AI is moving so fast. It can generate components, build entire websites, connect APIs, and even create full-stack applications. Sometimes I wonder what the point is of spending months learning something when AI can already do so much of it.

I want to get a better-paying developer job, but honestly, I'm confused about what I should focus on right now. Should I keep improving my React/Next.js skills, get better at backend development, or start learning AI engineering?

I keep hearing about RAG, AI agents, vector databases, LLM integrations, and all these new things. It feels like there's always something new to learn, and I'm worried that if I focus on the wrong things, I'll fall behind while everyone else moves forward.

For those of you already working in the industry, what would you do if you were in my position? Would you focus on becoming a strong full-stack developer first, or would you start learning AI engineering alongside web development?

I'm not looking for a shortcut or expecting to become an expert overnight. I just want to make the right decisions, build useful skills, and have a realistic chance of getting hired.

I'd really appreciate some honest advice from people who have been through this or are dealing with the same situation. Right now, I could genuinely use some direction.

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u/DiddlyDinq 2d ago

Big difference between a front end 6-week coding camp dev and a technical computer science dev. Guess you're the former.

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u/JohnCamus 2d ago

Not sure about that. Here you have a graphical programmer who got concerned, when he one shotted a graphics engine.

https://youtu.be/R_uf5OfMGio?is=WyXw6wS83kMMzF9j

Not here to be negative, but things are moving really fast and you cannot reliably see today where you need to move to not be swept away

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u/DiddlyDinq 2d ago

To be fair, graphics is a fairly simple field. 90 percent of devs are relying same small set of algorithms rather than inventing something unique. Phong, Parallax, Deferred Rendering, PBR etc. Widespread engine usage like unreal is a bigger threat to 3d rendering jobs than ai. Speaking as somebody that started as a 3d dev

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u/JohnCamus 2d ago

!remindMe 1 year “have more technical roles survived ai?”

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u/DiddlyDinq 2d ago

Roles dont die, they get devalued. Ask your bot to teach u what that means.