The Great Software Engineering Panic Of 2023

With mass layoffs happening in the tech industry and the advent of AI and ChatGPT challenging the need for programmers altogether, many software engineers are in a state of panic, wondering if they should quit coding entirely.

[sandeeptottadi]

The algoexpert ad is still saying "do you want to be a software engineer at Google?" 🥴 😅

[NICOHWPO]

I once heard “AI will replace software engineers the same way calculators replaced mathematicians”… meaning that, even thought calculators can solve problems faster that a mathematician, mathematicians are still needed.
So just don’t worry about it. It may be harder to find jobs this times or in the future, but AI will always be a tool for us. An ally.
Also, the job that you will be doing in 1-5 years maybe not be invented yet… or maybe YOU will invent it 🤷🏻‍♂️

Look out for positive things and opportunities, and positive things you will see.

[et]

I was a student a few years ago, afraid of investing in a Computer Science degree, found this page while in school. I can't stress enough, YOU'LL BE FINE. People get wrapped up in headlines about CS And SE, but they don't realize there are software engineers, and Computer Scientist working every single day, who don't have social media, don't post "a day in the life" don't post when they get fired, etc. Like there's an entire world outside of the internet.

[ImLure]

I think the biggest doom and gloom is that lack of transparency and disregard for newcomers to the IT industry. We have companies currently on career sites asking for Senior Positions in entry level jobs. Junior and Entry used to be 0-3 max before becoming a mid level but now I’m seeing an average of 3-5 years experience needed for ENTRY level and even some 7-10 years experience for that, and then mid level is average 5-7 years. I believe that’s where most of the rumblings are coming from coupled with AI.

It seems like the upper brass (Senior engineers) believe there is a huge discrepancy in the level of competence in lower half of the work force (junior-mid level) but the very sentiment from job postings and Reddit doomposting seems to equate to one thing, people don’t want to train up junior or entry level talent anymore. Adding in open source AI and it seems like it’s approaching a zero-sum game of either you know everything and can do everything or some senior who wants to coast can swoop in a take a job from someone who spends day-n-night wanting to improve.

Just my two cents on the whole thing

[FlopsPL]

Agreed with all. For a moment pays will lower, but in two years will go higher back. I saw this couple times in my engineering live. Planty companies need specialists.

[Tiparium_NMF]

It definitely hurt to graduate school right as the crap was getting bad. I've found some startup work to keep me busy and put some money in my pocket, but this position is nowhere near enough to let me move out of my parents house and break out on my own.

[techmentormaria]

Soooo I joined tech over 10 years ago and I'm currently a tech manager at FAANG. Software Engineering is going NOWHERE in the next 10 years at least. Sure, things are shifting but you can just move your skills to machine learning if needed. I don't understand why everyone is freaking out so much. Code generators have been a thing in forever.

[anaybaid]

I think it is fully worth it to develop problem-solving skills anyhow. Never a bad idea, considering the economy needs individuals who can put forth their skills in this way.

[HiiImChris]

I got about two years left, im 28 switched from medicine to software engineering at ASU. I feel some slight worry, but im such (or at least FEEL) a noob at coding and have alot to work on. Seeing this stuff unfold is strange but i suppose i actually dont care what either outcome is. When i quit medicine i did alot of introversion and knew i loved engineering concepts and applications, rational/critical thinking(i like feeling dumb/challenged) and i love computers but had no idea about the magic that was happening. I genuinely enrolled for software engineering and straight up didnt know it was even considered some sort of preferred 'high paying, job security, super amazing choice' and because of that i actually hardly have any care for these events. Just continue if you enjoy learning and sow the seeds for your self to have good odds in the future. But if youre only obsessed with income and job security, your prioirities and stance on this will be different which is totally ok, different people different values. Regardless i do agree that people are more than likely over reacting which i suppose is to be expected. Have a wonderful day guys

[xen]

I worry for the noobs, because by using chatGPT to do their assignments, they'll miss the entire cycle of learning involved as to WHY the solution does what it does...

[davidlee]

No real replacement but with the aid of AI, there will be much less jobs in the future for software engineers, end of discussion! So to many software engineers, they will be replaced, not because AI can completely replace engineers, but because we don't need that many engineers anymore.

[paulmieczkowski]

I'm software eng with 12y exp and i truly believe no of jobs in industry soon will be a half of what it was in 2021 due to AI and recession. Also salaries I think will be similar to other positions like say accounting - around 100k. This guy has a valid concern.

[szymonkrawiec]

why people do not understand that,
AI will NOT replace developers, BUT it will reduce HUGE amount of demand programmers,
If company needed ~15 programmers, now with ChatGPT they could need ~ 4 for example.
These 4 ppl are not being replaced by any means, someone need to take care of code, and understand what ChatGPT say, BUT, labor market will be completely different in next 5 years in IT, accounting etc

[xpoftik]

I 100 percent agree with every single word in this video! ChatGPT may empower your capabilities as a programmer, rather than replace you! It's time to significantly grow your skills and become a better version of yourself!

[brandonwu]

The biggest skill of a great engineer is analytics skill, which is what Clemen shows by using the word dissecting. However, it's both premature to say that chatGPT is not dangerous and is dangerous to programming jobs. You just need to know how market cycle works, especially when unlike crypto, innovation that works breeds innovation

[ryanjtc]

Now I can’t even put into words how cool it is to have a shoutout by Clement. (I’ve been watching your videos for years!)

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond, truly. As well as all the others who shared their insights. I really appreciate the perspectives from those who have saw this type of scenario before and can provide a more realistic outlook that can help stressed out students. I had just not seen anyone come at it from a student view (Other than using AI to cheat lol). The concerns I brought up are discussed on campus frequently.

I still do very much enjoy coding! But I will likely still be leaving my current program to teach myself. I should also mention due to the nature of Clements channel - I’m trying to become a web developer, not CS (for what it's worth).

- I have to say thanks again to everyone! I felt pretty alone with all this and it's nice to be reminded of how untrue that always is.

[harispapadopoulos]

Clement, the voice of reason, hope and calmness

[codeallnight]

We haven't even scratched the surface of where software can go in the future and the amount of different career fields that will come about when we finally develop realistic simulators and such there is no need to worry about your job. If nobody could make any money the big tech companies wouldn't have a reason to even use AI because no one would be able to buy their products

[Zeuts]

So essentially, "Nothing to worry about right now, but can't predict 5 years into the future." Sure, but for people in school right now looking for a career to go into, that's hardly any comfort. And the idea of "we'll always need people to use the tools" isn't much help either, because it says nothing about _how many_ people are needed. We still need farmers to use farming tools, but now they're less than 2% of the population whereas they used to be 50% or higher. Those tools absolutely did eliminate jobs. I often hear the argument "oh, well new jobs will be created". But there has to be a limit to that. New jobs won't be created when machines can _literally_ do anything a human can do, and most experts agree that most jobs will be eliminated well before we even reach that point.

[octi]

honestly, i feel like websites owner should sue openAI because they are about to sell their service when in reality, all those knowledge is stolen from websites and they didnt even credit the websites. Those websites are getting revenue from their visits but all those are lost because of GPT.