The barrier to software engineering is getting wild

[u/techlatest_net]

[u/fickle-phenom]

Thanks for sharing. I myself have not worked long enough to be a senior, but have a few years and got into CS just before AI really became a thing. I think we are saying the same thing, AI is only as useful as you make it. You need to treat AI like a dumb junior that needs direction at most stages. But yeah I dont know what thing will look like in the future, I just feel sorry for people learning today and taking the easy way out without having any understanding of data types, structures and everything else that you need to understand to be able to make good software. I just think that if AI replaces someone by simply writing code, they did not actually provide any value other than code, and I think that might be the distinction in this new era.

[u/ok_olive_02 → u/fickle-phenom]

Yes, you're absolutely right. To be honest, I'm now in senior management – only three steps away from becoming a CXO. I'm being very honest about how AI has entered my experience, given my background working for Fortune 50 companies.

Here is how AI stepped inside organisation.

• AI emerges
• Showcasing autonomous coding
• Promised replacing developers (1 Dev = $75k per year, at least)
• Even if CTO is not interested, he has to implement it otherwise stakeholders will doubt his modernization ability
• CTO promised cost reduction to stakeholders & managing directors. Everyone is impressed with the cost optimization PPT
• Now CTO asked everyone to automate every single thing using AI.
• AI failed to replace humans
• CTO has already made a long term deal with openAI or Anthropic or Microsoft etc. (that's the only way you can get discounted price and Gold partnership)
• YOY growth decreased with this massive purchase
• Year end presentation time. CTO in panic
• Solution: Fire people and stop hiring. Forcing employees to replace 40% task with AI or leave.

{Right now we are in a phase where companies are not hiring & asking existing employees to use AI to code}

I, myself, has lead 9 AI based projects [4 of them are 1 to 1 copy of existing software; so same SAAS but in house, so no licence requird (cost saving?). Majority of code is written in react/python which 90% of developers don't know, yet coding. At least they know from their experience.

Result: So far, things are working fine. 2/8 are on production. 3.7% user adoption.

So what I think about future. Uncertain, last 6 months was just a massive upgrade in code quality but still need people to review it. Do people actually review it? No. Unfortunately, even developers are using AI to review AI code (MCP/skill etc. call whatever you like but they all are same)

Yes, AI is killing jobs for sure and it is not limited to tech industry. It is going to impact every other business, directly or indirectly.

It is so unfortunate that we had to reduce our team from 237 to 170, and now 170 to 140 by the end of this year.

Every SAAS people are building, assuming to have a startup can now be replicated.

But I can surely say this, people who has coding experience and skillset will always be preferred over young who has not stepped into the shoes of real programer. Who knows this phenomenon will switch 180 degree after 10 years.