A few weeks ago, I wrote about the human in the loop and why review is now the bottleneck in software development. That post triggered a lot of...

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AI-assisted development is fundamentally changing software engineering careers by eliminating traditional junior developer roles and making deep technical fundamentals more valuable than ever. The bootcamp-to-junior-developer pipeline is closing as AI handles implementation work, making internships critical for developing judgment skills. However, a new opportunity is emerging: AI enables economically viable custom software development for small businesses, creating demand for generalist developers who can serve local markets. Success now requires deep understanding of computer science fundamentals, practical judgment gained through real production experience, and the ability to evaluate AI-generated code rather than just write it.

The Future of the Software Engineering Career

Very true. I’m seeing this too — AI can handle a lot of implementation now, but it can’t replace understanding why things are built a certain way.
Feels like fundamentals, debugging skills, and real project experience are becoming more important than ever for new developers.

Agreed. Despite all the AI hype, there are still plenty of businesses out there run on pen and paper, waiting to be transformed

Good for people with experience (of which I consider myself) but terrible for the job market for young people.

Exactly, like that. I ll add and get you one point further. Besides just “custom software”, there is now “custom agentic software”. Meaning, not only you can build software for a lower price for an sme, but also you harness the power of AI in that said software. Obviously it’s an enormous economic step-up just to have the custom software for SMEs but, this can also be cutting edge, if the freelancer is conversant in the architectures of agentic workfows.