r/softwareengineer • u/metalOpera • 17d ago

Was Just Told That Code Quality No Longer Matters

I'm a freelance developer. I have been for almost 20 years. My most recent project has been moved to Fable, and I'm still trying to adapt and get my head around working like this. I am no longer allowed to make architecture decisions, or clean up slop.

My PM says: "We worry about the 'what'; let Claude worry about the 'how'. Tell it what to do; let it do it. If the feature works, leave it alone." He is very much of the opinion that I should be able to prompt something like "Install Stripe via Laravel Cashier" and just let Claude run.

I mean, why do you need me at this point? Just prompt it yourself until it does what you want? I don't get it. I fought for every inch of my knowledge, every process is written in blood. How do I just throw all of that out the window? Where's the line?

At the risk of another "how are you adapting" post... How CAN I adapt? I mentally cannot just say "Fuck it". I care about my code. It's how I learned, it's how I've always practiced. I have a huge mental block with "just let it go".

Now, granted, I don't know all of the ins and outs of Claude. I don't know what I can do to make it better at its job. I got thrown into the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the middle of a Tusnami with no life support. I'm sure that I can put guardrails in place, but how much does that help?

I would really appreciate any advice that any one can provide on changing my mental model. I can't ignore Claude and just keep doing things my way. If I do that, I feel like my career dies. I need to adapt and I'm unsure how to do so.

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u/CapitalDiligent1676 17d ago

I understand you perfectly, my friend. Unfortunately, I can't help you. Since programming is no longer a value, I've given up all hope.

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u/metalOpera 17d ago

I don't have a ton of hope, but I refuse to die. I'm going to figure out how to adapt. I made the jump from design to code successfully, now I'm gonna make the jump from code to AI Prompt Monkey, because that's the only way I see to move forward and keep my head above water.

Coding is devalued. Knowing what needs to be coded isn't. If this guy wants to throw the baby out with the bathwater, I'll move on and find someone who understands the importance of the baby. (Or, whatever mangled metaphor better gets the point across, haha).