[Swizec]

The career I’m already moving towards – technical leadership. Swap programmers with AI and the really fun part of designing and building software systems remains the same.

Honestly the work is very similar. Much of what I do these days is conveying ideas to fuzzy intelligences, getting their feedback and suggestions, iterating, and making sure the final product is coherent, does what it says, and fits the longer term vision.

Turns out you can get a lot more done by keeping 5 people on track than you can by banging code on a keyboard.

[courgette]

Fair. But I would be weary of the swap also swapping the compensation down.

Not that it really matter on the long run in the context of that question

[Swizec]

I found this article insightful: https://milkyeggs.com/?p=303

When the internet empowered more people to do the lawyers’ grunt work, compensation became bimodal. There is more value in being on the high end, but less on doing the grunt work.

I think that’s gonna happen with other professions. Including ours (engineering). If you’re doing grunt work – be afraid. If you’re doing high level work – rejoice, it’s about to get easier.

You see this same effect in design for example. An art/design director’s job is about to get easier. The designer making the 5000th billboard for $Brand based on a style guide … could be tough.

[courgette]

That theory is floating around on HN since a few month. I find it appealing, to an extend.

Even if AI wrote most of the code, who check for completeness and is on prod support ?

I’m not 100% convinced that legal grunt work translate to software grunt work ( I don’t know about real engineering)

It may, but 20 years in that industry make me think that a legal PDF compiling jurisprudence is easier to “maintain” than any sizeable system.

That being said : it the AI output perfect, flawless and 100% up services, you don’t need human to know how the sausage is made. ( until it broke )

Question for you : what is engineering grunt work ? I’m not sure where I stand at this point. Working in giant structure make you feel like a cog, but I’m far removed from my earlier year problematic.

[bboylen]

As a current junior developer with ambitions to do high level work I have fear that the ladder will be pulled up by AI before I can get to that level.

We will see though :)

[Swizec]

Fear not, it will pull up the ladder as much as compilers did. Not at all