Transcript
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The speaker argues that AI will not eliminate software engineers and instead will create long-term demand for them. They reflect on major industry shifts and explain how AI is bringing excitement back to engineering, product, and design work.
Wait, there's still software engineers.AI has already replaced all the software engineers.I uh I'm a farmer.No.Um AI is not going to replace software engineers.Come on.I think uh that's hype from the AI companies just to sell that their products are so superior and that you got to go in with them and and use their products.But AI, excuse me, uh engineers, they have a long solid career ahead of them.We need more good software engineers.I hope they keep coming out of college and it's it's going to be a great profession for a long time.The profession has changed.It's not the same as it was even two years ago.But we're going to need software engineers for a long long time to maintain these systems, especially the amount of bioded slop that's coming out.We're definitely going to need AI engineers and software engineers to help clean up that mess.
I've been in engineering for almost 30 years, right?And I've been through some crazy transitions from the dotcom boom to the uh you know agile really catching on especially around 10 2010 2012 when agile started moving into companies and changing how organizations really work together and thatfelt like the biggest shift.Nothing is ever going to top this right.um web frameworks kept coming, other advancements in language and how people worked, but everything just felt like it was kind of on this trajectory and I didn't see any big shift really coming.But it's over the last year or two that we really see the impact that AI is having on this whole industry and and just everything around it.So, you know, nothing has ever come like this before.Um, this is truly transformative and I don't think we've seen anywhere near what the end state of what is coming and it's invigorated so many people to also just be excited to be in these careers at this time.
For many people that have been in a career like this for 20 30 years, they get to a point where they get put into management or they get put into other things and your job becomes meetings and yourjob becomes, you know, managing other people.And AI has also brought the spark and the fun back for a lot of senior leadership and engineers and product and designers and not just the people that are hands-on coders, but now it's getting back to where everybodycan participate and have fun with this and actually build and create and imagine.So, it's just such a it's just such an amazing time to be in the space and I am I'm so excited and optimistic for the future and what this brings.
The discussion turns to vibe coding, with the speaker rejecting the term as vague and confusing. They emphasize that learning to code still matters, especially for professionals, and that AI should be used as a teaching aid.
Yes.My hot take on vibe coding.I hate the term vibe coding because it means different things to different people and it confuses every conversation about vibe coding.Coding with AI and coding with agents, love it.Vibe coding, it's great for a hobby, but uh putting a little bit of planning and thinking about what you're doing with AI, I think, is the uh is the better approach to most things.Yes, I think you still need to learn to code, especially if you're going to college.I hope they are still teaching CS 101 and design patterns and code.Even if the agent does it all for you, you need to have that solid understanding.If you're going to be a professional in this career and you want to make this your career, 100% still worth learning to code.And if you're picking this up with a for a hobby or something that there's still nothing wrong with learning what the agent is doing for you.
So yes, learn to code.Pick it up as you go along.If you don't know how to code right now and you're using AI to build things, ask the AI to explain to you what it's doing, show you some things, teach you some things, and you'll pick up some greattips along the way.
After a brief channel promotion, the speaker gives career advice for students and junior engineers. They recommend focusing on AI tools, systems thinking, architecture, and staying ahead of industry change to remain relevant.
Hey, I just want to interrupt really quick here and we'll get right back to the video.Please subscribe to the channel and like if you have not already, but also check out bmmedcode.com where you can register and get deep dive articles on topics just like we talk about every week in the live stream.Join us in the live stream next time.I think I would go back and I would learn a trade.No.Um, cut that.Uh, I don't know.You know, it's it's a tough decision though, even for youth, right?Like, should they even go into software engineering now?There's this whole question.And I think there's definitely a need for software engineers now and well into the future.So, don't believe the hype that software engineering is going away.If I were getting out of college right now, what would I focus on?
Probably exactly what I'm doing right now, honestly.And some of the best people I see coming out of tech and the people that I want to hire are the ones that are thinking like I am right now, which is looking 6 months to a few yearsout realizing a AI is the new way of working and just focus on learning how to be the best AI native engineer that I can and don't worry about the gatekeepers.Don't worry about the people that say you still need to be in the code.I would focus on AI and these tools and how to leverage and harness and and implement faster.It's it's it's such an it's such an exciting time to be an engineer and and systems thinking, right?People talk about systems thinking.It's got a little bit of hype a few weeks ago, but systems thinking is a real key skill set to work on right now.
Oh, and I would say that's something else I would really focus on is if I was a junior engineer, the hardest thing for junior engineers right now is you're going to go into a job, you're going to bedealing with these legacy systems and you're going to be given these small tasks and you're going to rely on your senior engineers and the AI is going to help you.And for the ones that are really going to excel and stay with this career very early in the career and what I would try to do is as soon as I can start learning how to think about thebig picture, start mentoring with people and learning how to think about architecture or even though you know as a junior engineer I'm going to be given these these simple tasks but I'm going to look for opportunities on my
own to say like how can we improve this whole system?Do we need to do it this way?Why did we do it this way?Those are the things that matter now because that's where we still maintain control with the AI is those big picture decisions.So that would be my main focus.You know, my advice for engineers right now is if you're in a place first of all that is not already embracing AI tools.If you want to be relevant 5 years out and you're not like on the verge of retirement, you need to start playing with claude.Check out the BMAD method.Check out Agentic Tools.be aware of what's coming because you might be in a place where you don't see it coming or you don't think it's coming but it is coming.So you need to start practicing with AI and learning how to use it effectively now because as they say AI is not going to replace you but an engineer with AI very well might.
So you want to be the strong engineer that knows how to use these tools.And if you are in a place that is using AI, the best thing that you can do for your career is to be that expert that is staying a little bit ahead of where the hype is right nowand learning how to use that effectively and sharing that information.Be a lifelong learner and be a teacher and a mentor to everybody else on your team.At least that's what I would do if that's what's me if that was me.And I I really think that will serve you well and you will be relevant well beyond the next 5 years.
A brief closing word ends the segment.
beat.