With AI looming, is there still space for new coders? - eviltoast

For some background, I originally wanted to break into programming back when I was in college but drifted more into desktop tech support and now systems administration. SysAdmin work is draining me, though, and I want to pick back up programming and see if I can make a career out of it, but industry seems like it could be moving in a direction to rely on AI for coding. Everything I’ve heard has said AI is not there yet, but if it’s looking like it hits a point where it reaches an ability to fully automate coding, should I even bother? Am I going to be obsolete after a year? Five years?

  • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
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    9 months ago

    expect that AI will increase demand for programmers exceptionally, as the bar for entry lowers.

    Bingo! This also happened when web frameworks promised to take away our jobs. Also when code generators promised to take away our jobs.

    It turns out that expertise in computers remains pretty useful in a society that uses computers for almost everything. Even after the exact previous computer skill is no longer relevant.

    Source: Y’all can pry Commodore BASIC from my cold dead hands. I may not be getting paid for it, but I’ll keep producing that beautiful line numbered code until my last breath.