Lately, I’ve had this nagging thought in the back of my head that I just can’t shake off.
Working as a software engineer right now feels overwhelming. The speed at which AI is moving isn't just fast—it feels completely exponential. Every few months there's a new model, a new tool, or a new paradigm, and honestly? It makes me insecure. I catch myself wondering: How am I supposed to compete in the long run? Not just against other talented engineers, but against AI itself?
I’ve tested pretty much every major AI tool and provider out there. And the truth is, I can barely work without them anymore. It has completely changed my daily workflow. But using it every day also shows me a really obvious gap.
There are people who just "vibe code"—they blindly throw prompts at a model, copy-paste whatever comes out, and pray that it works without really understanding what’s happening underneath. And then there are people who actually understand architecture, system design, and how things connect. Right now, AI gives everyone a boost, but I feel like the gap between someone who truly understands the foundation and someone who just vibes is only going to get wider.
For a while, the tech news made it feel like companies wanted to replace everyone with AI agents. We saw all those layoffs in the US, with executives hoping AI could slash payroll. But honestly, watching how that played out gave me a bit of relief. Companies quickly realized that burning millions of AI tokens on messy code and broken agents is ridiculously expensive—sometimes more expensive than just hiring capable humans to do the job right.
It feels like we’re slowly finding an equilibrium. AI isn't going to replace every single human. Instead, companies will probably keep the people who actually know what they’re doing, and those people will use AI to do 5x or 10x the work.
Still, one thing genuinely worries me: what happens to the fresh graduates?
If a company can just use AI to handle boilerplate code, basic bug fixes, or routine tasks, why would they hire a junior engineer? And it’s not just tech. What happens to junior financial analysts, entry-level accountants, or junior sales reps? If nobody hires juniors to do the simple stuff, how is anyone supposed to gain the experience to become a senior?
I honestly feel so lucky that I started my career right as this AI wave kicked off, giving me time to build my fundamentals before relying heavily on these tools.
At the end of the day, I can't slow down the AI race. All I can do is make sure I keep learning, stay curious, and use AI as leverage for my career rather than being intimidated by it.
One day at a time.