My company started providing every programmer who wanted it with Github Copilot in like 2023, iirc. I declined it (we were still allowed to decline it back then, sigh). My process of thought was that it takes almost zero skill to “learn” AI tools, but once they’re part of your workflow you become reliant on them and your actual rate of learning stalls. I still wasn’t particularly experienced or good at programming back then (only started my IT career in late 2021) so I wanted to heavily invest in myself and level up my skills as much as I could.
Fast forward to today, and there is a significant skill gap between me and the coworkers I was on par with when Copilot was introduced. I’m still not some kind of superstar programmer, but when it comes to my specific niche (React/Typescript) I’m considered one of the go-to people to consult within my department. Meanwhile some of my colleagues still need almost weekly reminders to use let/const instead of var (yes we have a linter, but they accidentally turn it off sometimes…).
About a month ago management started hard-pushing their AI bullshit. Everyone is mandated to install and use Claude Code. So… I did. It took me maybe a day to learn, most of which was spent fiddling with IntelliJ (I took the chance to migrate from Windows IntelliJ to using its Linux build within a WSL, it’s such an improvement!). I did all the mandated Claude tutorials and everything I got out of it is more resentment for my coworkers. This tool really is made for total morons. Even the “advanced features” like writing custom hooks and subagents or connecting to custom MCP servers are just so… stupid. If that’s the most complicated thing they do on a day-to-day basis, I am very much not surprised about their brain atrophying.
Anyways, I am now also the go-to person my colleagues approach when they need help with their Claude setup. Because the guy who self-identifies as competent in AI topics just straight up lies way too much, as he can’t handle being perceived as anything but extremely smart and competent (which just wastes everyone’s time, since finding issues is way harder when he insists his first hunch is always the 100% correct solution and doesn’t admit it when he makes a wrong assumption).
I’m very much not worried about my job security (someone with the capacity to actually understand the code they write is much more valuable and harder to replace, plus I hold a lot of knowledge about our existing product) but I’m certainly having a hard time applying for new jobs. Recruiters and managers really are stupid enough to think that using AI requires any sort of deeper skill, so putting AI on your CV as a skill is basically required nowadays (I still refuse to do it). And the AI bros whose applications I’m competing with are just much more comfortable with lying about their actual coding skill and competence, so on the first scan my resume does end up looking worse than theirs. But I have absolutely crushed every interview that I was actually invited to, because faking technical skill in actual conversation is way harder. I’m not too pessimistic about my prospects of finding a new job, even if the market definitely sucks right now.
My company started providing every programmer who wanted it with Github Copilot in like 2023, iirc. I declined it (we were still allowed to decline it back then, sigh). My process of thought was that it takes almost zero skill to “learn” AI tools, but once they’re part of your workflow you become reliant on them and your actual rate of learning stalls. I still wasn’t particularly experienced or good at programming back then (only started my IT career in late 2021) so I wanted to heavily invest in myself and level up my skills as much as I could.
Fast forward to today, and there is a significant skill gap between me and the coworkers I was on par with when Copilot was introduced. I’m still not some kind of superstar programmer, but when it comes to my specific niche (React/Typescript) I’m considered one of the go-to people to consult within my department. Meanwhile some of my colleagues still need almost weekly reminders to use let/const instead of var (yes we have a linter, but they accidentally turn it off sometimes…).
About a month ago management started hard-pushing their AI bullshit. Everyone is mandated to install and use Claude Code. So… I did. It took me maybe a day to learn, most of which was spent fiddling with IntelliJ (I took the chance to migrate from Windows IntelliJ to using its Linux build within a WSL, it’s such an improvement!). I did all the mandated Claude tutorials and everything I got out of it is more resentment for my coworkers. This tool really is made for total morons. Even the “advanced features” like writing custom hooks and subagents or connecting to custom MCP servers are just so… stupid. If that’s the most complicated thing they do on a day-to-day basis, I am very much not surprised about their brain atrophying.
Anyways, I am now also the go-to person my colleagues approach when they need help with their Claude setup. Because the guy who self-identifies as competent in AI topics just straight up lies way too much, as he can’t handle being perceived as anything but extremely smart and competent (which just wastes everyone’s time, since finding issues is way harder when he insists his first hunch is always the 100% correct solution and doesn’t admit it when he makes a wrong assumption).
I’m very much not worried about my job security (someone with the capacity to actually understand the code they write is much more valuable and harder to replace, plus I hold a lot of knowledge about our existing product) but I’m certainly having a hard time applying for new jobs. Recruiters and managers really are stupid enough to think that using AI requires any sort of deeper skill, so putting AI on your CV as a skill is basically required nowadays (I still refuse to do it). And the AI bros whose applications I’m competing with are just much more comfortable with lying about their actual coding skill and competence, so on the first scan my resume does end up looking worse than theirs. But I have absolutely crushed every interview that I was actually invited to, because faking technical skill in actual conversation is way harder. I’m not too pessimistic about my prospects of finding a new job, even if the market definitely sucks right now.