I was recently approached by a young colleague who had read my article What "100% of Our Code Is Written by AI" Actually Means. Their significant other is a junior developer, and worried about their future. They asked me, "What should they do?"
None can say for certain, but for me, it comes down to a couple of things:
smart people will always be in demand.
coding is moving toward "conducting agents", which is very like managing teams of people, and requires those same skills -- clear communications (the #1 skill to develop), critical thinking and judgement, breaking larger problems down into component parts, navigating politics...EQ will be a person-based skill for a while yet.
if humans have a psychological need for work and productivity (I certainly do, but is it an inherent human need?), we'll create jobs to satisfy it. Humans are endlessly creative.
I would recommend that he spend any time he can coding with the AI tools. Building and exploring frameworks. Trying to find the limits. Creating apps, websites, desktop tools, add-ins, personal problem-solvers, whatever.
The tools are changing fast. Right now, old guys (✋) with long devt histories are better with the tools because we have the team management skills...but the faster things evolve, the more advantages go to young, pliable brains to soak up what matters and rely on horsepower rather than stored wisdom.
And, finally, I don't think junior engineering positions will disappear, though they will change and there will be fewer of them. Somebody needs to become those middle-managers conducting the agent teams...rather than being pyramid-shaped, I think hiring will be house-shaped, with incentives to hire fewer junior folks but keep them longer.
I've written a few pieces that speak to where this is going and what skills are needed--but would love to know your perspective. Are you a young professional? What do you see?
