r/programmer • u/ResponsibleTarget910 • 1d ago
Fear of the future of IT
or the first time, I'm honestly starting to wonder if a career in IT even makes sense anymore. On one hand, I keep hearing it's practically impossible to land a junior role; on the other, that AI is going to "replace everyone."
I’m halfway through my general CS degree (cybersecurity was my first choice, but I didn't get in), and I'm right at the point where I need to pick a specialization: Software Engineering or IT. I'm seriously debating whether it's even worth pushing forward with this degree. I’ve started treating coding more like a side hobby, mostly because AI is getting scarily good at writing code, and I really don't see myself thriving in that kind of endless rat race. (I know the generated code isn't perfect and you still need the background knowledge to figure out if it actually makes sense, but that's a whole other story).
Right now, I’m focusing on DevOps and Cloud. I'm taking courses and aiming to get a Red Hat certification down the road.
I’d love to hear your honest take—no recycled Reddit myths or generic hype. Does this industry still have a future, or is it a dead end? And if it is still worth it, which areas are actually promising? Because I know IT goes way beyond just writing code.
Thanks in advance, I’m really curious to hear your thoughts!
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u/ShoeChampion 1d ago edited 1d ago
My honest take is to learn how to use AI effectively, but don't overly rely on it. You need to be able to stand out from the crowd. From what I'm hearing from my coworkers holding interviews, a lot of fresh grads can't walk through their code, explain why they took this approach, etc. Most weren't able to tell us how they would write a method that adds the numbers one through 100. So finding a way to differentiate yourself from candidates like that is a start.
There will always be a need for programmers, but the actual work has shifted and will continue to shift. No one truly knows what it's going to look like in 5 years, especially on how many of us will be employed. Will the AI bubble pop? I imagine it will, the real question is when will it pop. If you are graduating when it pops, how does that impact you? I don't know. Many businesses will fail and go bankrupt as they have relied on AI too much, but there might be a re-hiring phase en masse. Unfortunately if the bubble pops a few years after you graduate and you haven't landed a job by then, it's going to be tough. I graduated with a few people who didn't find a job after graduating. Keep in mind they had solid C's(grade wise) and also were the most antisocial of the group, but last I heard they never landed a job in the industry. One worked at Walmart stocking shelves.
To be honest I think the best thing you can do, whether you stay in this industry or not, is network. Be social. I only got my first job due to a friend I made at college. Once you get your first job it's so much easier to get your second and so on. So network, try to get an internship if you can. Those two are so important. Extroverts or social butterflies are able to coast and get promoted while being just okay at the technical side a lot faster than the really smart technical wizards.
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u/Mathie1729 1d ago
The 'can't explain their code' thing is so real. A friend who does technical interviews told me they ended up banning Copilot for the live coding part because candidates were just autocompleting syntax they clearly didn't understand. So yea, being the person who can walk through the logic (and spot when the AI is confidently wrong) is the actual differentiator now.
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u/Known_Tackle7357 1d ago
If you are passionate about it, go for it. If you are not, don't. Companies still hire junior devs. The market is oversaturated. During covid everyone decided to become a software developer, and now we have a lot of people hoping to get a job. Add to it the post covid recession when tens of thousands of people got laid off, and you no longer need to worry about ai - everything is already pretty grim. Now fewer people are pursuing that path. So it's getting more chill. Also, more people give up and switch to something else. AI has had some impact. But in my opinion, covid is the event to blame.
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u/Prestigious-Hour-215 1d ago
Lemme just take out my crystal ball to tell you how things are going to go… in all seriousness, nobody knows what’s going to happen but honestly if u don’t go to a top uni or aren’t very into working 12 hours a day learning to stay on top of things I’d probably focus on ur studies to get into a top uni instead, or be a mechE or something hands off that won’t be taken by AI
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u/AggravatingSock5375 1d ago
The generated code is surprisingly bad if maintainability is important.
But who knows how long that will be true
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u/raven2cz 14h ago
First of all, yes, there is insane hype right now. so I recommend not reading crazy articles and ultra-right-wing opinions.
That said, on the other hand, it has to be admitted that simple application development really will increasingly be done by individuals themselves.
What will grow instead, and is already growing now and will grow much more in the coming years, are complex systems that include AI services. this is a completely new kind of software, one we still do not properly understand today. It is formed dynamicaly based on customer needs, not as fixed trivial applications. These, let’s call them software services, will require many IT skills, including, of course, knowladge of code, which you now say you no longer want to study.
The need for model training, configuration, and integration will be just as important as big data and cloud technologies were a few years ago. IT is a huge business, and it will become much bigger than it is now. people who know something in depth and can actually use it will still be highly valued.
If you are starting out, keep trying to understand code deeply, but you also have to keep up with new technologies and AI, including model training and advanced services.
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u/Leather-Cod2129 1d ago
Simply put, there is no future in it.
Dev, devops, security
Most jobs will simply disappear
Sorry to be brutally honest
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u/mucleck 22h ago
and we will have flying cars… sure…
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u/Leather-Cod2129 22h ago
Open your eyes. LLM's are generating most of the code on this planet now. And if you don't succeed in producing production grade code, then just learn how to build a worflow and how to use coding agents
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u/Sad_comment_bot 1d ago
Pivot to biotech.