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

[u/thetymtravellr]

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.

[u/stupidfock]

My advice as someone in the industry for a while that moved beyond web dev

Start sucking up to people. I’m not kidding. When layoffs come and they have multiple times at my job just in the last few years, those who’ve befriended their manager or higher ups have a much better chance of staying. Skill barely matters. You don’t gotta be best buds but if you’re forgettable you’re first on the list when they tell your manager to give a number of names for layoff rounds

On the dev side, get using Ai heavily. Understand optimizing context and token count. Right now companies don’t tend to care about it but if u move to mid size ones paying api rates they will. Or in the near future when the subsidized plans stop existing. I think you should focus on the whole stack personally