sean goedecke

A staff software engineer reflects on the uncertain future of the profession in the age of AI agents. The author contrasts the optimism of 2021 with current anxieties, arguing that unlike past threats (outsourcing, high-level languages), AI agents represent a genuinely existential shift. They explore two scenarios: tech companies undershooting AI capabilities (engineers stay longer but shift to supervision roles) or overshooting (talent crunch for senior engineers before models catch up). The Jevons effect argument—that demand for engineers will grow as software volume increases—is dismissed, as AI is already improving at code maintenance. The author, a staff engineer, acknowledges they'll likely be among the last affected, while junior and mid-level engineers face the most immediate risk.

I don't know if my job will still exist in ten years