10/23/2026
I'm a software engineer. The path of that career is changing quickly. If you're interested, this is what I am seeing, thinking and feeling about it.
The Beginning
- 3 years ago I was an average engineer. Learning and forgetting. Looking things up, and asking people for help, giving help. Finding a niche in coding that I could specialize in. We'll say that is my baseline, 1x.
- 1 year ago or so I started using AI tab completions. That speed things up. I was maybe 2-3x. I had to learn how to type the idea of what I wanted in code and comments and the AI could complete it for me, or get close and I'd fix it.
- 6 months ago I was 10x. I used Cursor to write code, and had Claude or OpenAI models writing code for me faster than I could. I reviewed their code to ensure it was good and would ship that. I started creating things I would have never imagined before. Any idea I could fumble thru and create. Limited more on my creativity than my experience and knowledge, though I still need that to know what and how etc.
Now
- Today I am 20x. I don't write code. I don't even review code much. I have 6+ worktrees open for the same project, all running Claude agents solving different issues I am finding and solving on my own. I am no longer a software engineer, I am an AI manager, or a Systems Engineer, or an AI Product Engineer. My goal now is to be more creative in finding pains, features, solutions. I can create anything and test it faster than I could have made the plan a year ago.
What does that mean? IDK. I know it is harder to start as a software engineer now. Hard to get junior jobs. Companies aren't hiring like they did a year ago or 3 years ago. There was a joke in the industry 4+ years ago. If you had any issue in your current job, quit and get a new one. It was that easy. Now, don't quit. Keep it as long as you can.
Some that are let go from their jobs aren't going back. They are find other jobs, and careers.
We still need engineers, and experience and expertise. We just need less. And those that are not using AI in their work are going to be 20x times below those that are. If you are an amazing coder but refuse to use AI, a non-coder can probably outperform you in quantity of features, speed, quality, etc. Lame, but true.
Software Culture?
20+ years ago if you wanted some software you'd have to buy it outright. Full price, lifetime ownership.
10 years ago, subscriptions took over. You own nothing, you subscribe. You own nothing, not even what you create in the software. You rent it.
Now? You don't need to pay someone else for software. Make your own. Want to edit some pictures? Don't need Adobe Photoshop, someone released that for free, open source. Don't know how to use it? No worries, just tell an AI to edit the picture for you. It'll just do it in one go.
Don't want to pay for an app to track your gym workouts? Your calendar? Your anything? Make your own. Want a game, make your own.
Literally just need AI to be able to create anything you want.
Now you have beholden to the AI subscriptions. And they will go up in price, just wait.
What's next?
No idea. I do know software engineers are not surviving this the same as they were before. They will have to adapt to some other form of engineering, like AI systems engineering to create the workflows AI takes in order to be predictable and output quality.
In the meantime I am happy to be working in the industry and learning all these skills. I make my own apps and tools to do anything I need and enjoy it. I look to help others learn and utilize what I know to make their lives easier as well.
Maybe I'll find a blue collar job as a backup, maybe a little side business I can run to have something to fallback on if something happens like I've seen happen to many of my friends.
I may be just writing these notes for myself, to process what is going on in the world in my career. If you get something out of this, that's good too. Let me know your thoughts.
