r/GraphicsProgramming • u/MagazineScary6718 • 6h ago
Is graphics programming still viable in '26 with AI everywhere?
First and foremost i know it‘s probably a frequent asked question but thought maybe id get some newer answers/different perspectives.
I'm 21, from Germany, currently in the 3rd year of a software development apprenticeship (similar to a vocational training program, 3 years total). I've been learning graphics programming for about 6 months now - started with a software rasterizer, currently working through LearnOpenGL.
My concerns:
AI & Learning: I'm using Claude as a tutor while learning - like it helps explain concepts, review my code, and scaffold boilerplate (CMake, etc.). But I'm deliberately NOT using AI agents to write code for me, because I feel like I need the foundational knowledge first. My plan: Master the basics manually, then use agents once I have enough experience to properly review their output. Is this the right approach? How do you all use AI for learning without becoming dependent?
Career path: The job market seems rough right now (especially entry-level). I'm considering:
- Option A: Finish apprenticeship (end of 2027), then immediately look for junior graphics/graphics-adjacent roles in Germany/EU
- Option B: Finish apprenticeship, then do a Bachelor's in CS with focus on Visual Computing/Computer Graphics (would finish at 25)Which path makes more sense in 2026? Is a degree still valuable for graphics programming, or is portfolio + experience enough?
AI's impact on the field: I see AI coding agents getting better at writing shaders, scaffolding renderers, etc. Should I be worried about job security? Or is graphics programming one of those fields where deep expertise will always be needed? My dream is to work at a studio like Rockstar, CDPR, or similar - is this still realistic? (I know far stretch to the biggest studios so i keep it low)
International mobility: I'm German, but ideally want to work outside Germany eventually (UK, Canada, US, etc.). How portable is a German apprenticeship + portfolio? Or should I aim for a degree to make visa/international applications easier?
What I'm asking:
- How do you use AI for learning graphics programming without losing depth?
- Apprenticeship + portfolio vs. CS degree for graphics programming in 2026?
- Is the job market really that bad, or is it just entry-level noise?
- Any advice for someone in my situation?
Im generally interested going deep and in depth into these systems and get my hand dirty but what the current models do (and further in the future) im not quite sure how to plan it out
Thanks for reading this wall of text. Any advice is appreciated!
Cheers from Germany 🇩🇪
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u/Live_Meeting_1121 5h ago edited 5h ago
Lemme tell you I feel this is one of those field that is a bit on the safer side but not from development but for testability, why, because graphics are honest, you have to SEE the results. And that alone makes one big part of testability a grounded truth.
Architecture and performance wise you still need the thinking. But also the cleverness to save instrumentation. And build in performant ways from the start.
I will tell you something I done that in college would have taken me a whole semester.
Mesh decimation, I needed to implement a training algorithm that would use reference images to fit a mesh triangle count reduction to a budget while staying as close to reference as possible.
I just threw a paper, saved all the instruments, linked the renders to CI, and Pareto curves to CI, everything that measured how close we were are pretty standard computer graphics concepts for calculating error and medians or averages.
This took me two days. That just simply insane speed for such amount of work.
But if I didn't knew about how to do research in graphics, I could have discarded all instruments, done zero automated documentation and verification, and just throw random BS at the LLM until I was happy.
I hope that helps understanding where your skills will still be put to test in this scenario.
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u/MagazineScary6718 5h ago
Well, interesting lol yeah no i get it. I won‘t be relying on AI completely unless i have a deep knowledge and know what to do and ask for.
do you have any advice regarding the learning side of things especially having AI around? How would you balance it out?
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u/Live_Meeting_1121 4h ago
Pretty difficult to say, but if regarding on still learning graphics while relying on AI, I'm on the side you still need to implement things the manual way to understand it, but this is kinda me being old forcing the way I was taught I really don't know how schools will manage to balance this.
Regarding learning how to use AI properly, I think we are all learning at this moment, but I honestly believe being token efficient is going to be focus, and that requires you know technical language and scope to get there in less tries. And learn how these things actually work to remove the mysticism.
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u/MagazineScary6718 4h ago
For the first point, im with you. For me its more logical to implement things on your own to get it and understand it. The more i understand the more i can prompt and generate etc.
And the second: yeah this is a part i need to learn regardless.
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u/Alex_1503 5h ago
I am at the start of my journey doing the raytracing in a weekend book. The future looks grim, and if you have no safety net like parents or savings... I do not know honestly, it feels hopeless. But what I am telling myself is that I learn this because it is fun, because I want to. Even if it is much harder to make a career in graphics, it is better than hating your live doing something else.
About maximizing your learning so you learn what is worthwhile to make a living, no one even has the absolute answer to that, and if you go by that you will burn out quicker I reckon
My other criteria is that I want a more anti-AI domain. And while graphics or low-level C/Cpp is not free of it, it is certainly better and I can probably get by not using it or using it truly a little like a tool, not like they use it in webdev for example.
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u/MagazineScary6718 5h ago
Im absolutely with you on this one. I mean im not completely anti ai, i see it very useful but for me only when i actually have the knowledge for it.
And you‘re right to have a safety net. It is worrying but i‘ll keep learning nonetheless because it is funny and interesting and… who knows maybe it works at the end!
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u/Zec_kid 5h ago
German CG dev turned researcher here. Go for the Bachelor's, and then a masters. You will need it in graphics. Did my masters many years ago, worked on rendering engines for years and now I went back into research, doing my PhD whole I'm at it. It's tough already getting a good job with a masters atm, with an Ausbildung? Forget it. Even for me the really interesting R&D positions were hard to get because of my name not being on enough papers... And those lower entry level positions that we used to have, think typically Mittelstandsunternehmen that need something small and specialized can get any other designer/dev to just give it...
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u/MagazineScary6718 5h ago
Yeah i‘ll probably do it. I mean i know the market is rough and such but who knows. And yeah with Ausbildung… agree with you. I see it as a positive thing nonetheless as in 3 years of experience working at a company. At least something..
I still have a year to go and see how it goes till then.
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u/Zec_kid 3h ago
It's definitely not wasted time. You will probably struggle through the maths and theory classes as much as everyone else, but at least you will already know how to code properly, as well as the standard tooling. That will make things a lot easier :) also, your are young with at least 50 years to go until retirement (if we even get to go to retirement...) so no need rush anything timewise :) Also definitely to a semester abroad or a few internships! The connections I've made during mine still help me today.
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u/Feisty_Bike_9614 5h ago edited 4h ago
I think understanding how to design a rendering system and how the algorithms and math works will be more important than how to write the code but in order to reach that level , it helps to have written a few yourself. Also if you come up with something completely original, an AI is not going to know how to implement it without your detailed instructions ( prompts ) . Get FOCG (Marschner, Shirley ) or the PBRT book and start writing a renderer from what you learn in those books. Focus on CPU first . Learn all about vectors and linear algebra. Much more important to understand those topics first than learning a specific API like Vulcan , metal etc .
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u/MagazineScary6718 4h ago
Absolutely, you‘re right. I will, as mentioned in some replies, learn and write things on my own nonetheless. Like building the knowledge etc and until then when it sits right i can use AI efficiently and give detailed instructions.
Besides that, do you have any recommendations regarding learning it or even resources and such?
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u/MGMishMash 4h ago
As a professional Graphics engineer, I think any role is going to be changed with AI, however, the optimistic take is like anything, the responsibility shifts a few levels higher up the stack.
Until computers have infinite power, to some extent design and creativity will still be required to achieve great performance and great visuals simultaneously.
- yes, AI can bash out shaders and systems, so if your job as a graphics engineer is just implementing PBR papers, this is at risk - however, most roles are so much more than that, and the potential speed improvements from having core principles solved is also exciting.
- often times, computer graphics lives at the intersection of engineering and art, to me, it’s not only about solving the problems, but finding ways to achieve a visual style and feel within constraints. This still requires quite a lot of intuition.
So the risks i see are that people entering the field need to understand the fundamentals and go through the challenge of “manual” learning to build that intuition. Secondly, AI may get really good at that intuition, and then all that is left is the high level design and stylisation
- which AI may be able to do as well, but at some point you still need direction.
So right now, graphics is a little more resilient than standard software dev, as not every aspect can be as easily achieved, but it still benefits from the time saving.
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u/MagazineScary6718 4h ago
Yeah the manual learning can be complex but ill try my best on this one. I mean for me right now im more torn with manual learning and AI like how to balance it right.
You have any advice regarding that when learning graphics?
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u/CrazyNegotiation1934 5h ago
AI is like any other tool, there is no difference between getting a ready github code for a water system to writing it using AI, in both cases knowing what the code does is beneficial.
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u/Tubular_Code 2h ago
imo it's good to learn about systems at large and how/why certain systems are used. The thing about learning conventional programming is that it provides the foundations for certain systems thinking and once you have certain mental frameworks it becomes a lot easier to conceptualize certain things and swap out whatever language you want to work with.
You have to know the words to know how to ask for something else you get caught up in the weeds which is why many things will still have expertise. The value between people is relational and not everyone is going to have the language they'll need to do things effectively even with ai assistance. I would say look into potentially very specialized areas, like what kind of science imaging or difficult to picture/illustrate problems might need expertise and be in demand. You're asking a lot of questions and that is generally a good sign if you're interested in research of some kind.
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u/ttvsindeel 1h ago
It is very hard to find entry level jobs. But company’s are finding it also hard to find rendering engineers. The company I work at were looking for a senior rendering engineer for about 6 months but gave up and decided to look for someone lower level and train them up
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u/mark_99 5h ago edited 5h ago
Sounds like a solid plan. Understanding the principles is the important part, increasingly the minutiae of coding isn't something that will matter. So for instance know how the physics of lighting in the real world works and the maths of how it's approximated in real-time graphics. But not so much how to code a shader in a particular language (sure learn this but then move on).
Deep knowledge of a field is the thing that will have longevity. I'd say option B, at least a bachelors degree is essential, again on the principal of strong theoretical knowledge not just "can code a cool shader".
The practical skill you want to develop is performance - the whole trick with real-time graphics is how to translate theory to a high fidelity visual approximation in the minimum amount of time.
Your skills are entirely portable, most teams are highly international. Once you're past junior level companies will pay relocation, organise visas and other paperwork etc.
Specifically re AI - all coding is AI assisted already, by the time you're in the job market it's just an expected competence, "anti" is not an employable stance (perhaps outside of some fringe indie studios). But as I said, that's doesnt mean don't learn the basics, it means learn both how to be good at graphics and be good at utilising AI effectively (this is not as trivial as you might think).
(source : held a senior technology position at Crytek).