I’m reaching out to all software engineers, especially senior developers — I really want to hear your thoughts.
I’ve always loved building things with code and solving real-world problems. It’s what drives me. But with the rapid rise of AI, I’ll be honest — it’s been frustrating and unsettling.
Where does this leave us? What does the future hold for experienced engineers like us?
How do we stay relevant, future-proof our careers, and continue doing meaningful work?
I’m at a crossroads and trying to figure out the next direction:
- Should I go deeper into AI?
- Focus on cloud engineering?
- Explore blockchain more seriously?
For context, I have extensive experience in Elixir and backend systems — but I’m open to where the future is headed.And I love working with elixir
Would love to hear from others in the field. What are you thinking, planning, or worried about? Let’s talk.
Maybe we are solving the wrong problem here. Like in programming, we can be guilty of advancing solutions to a poorly understood problem. Maybe AI is the opportunity to stop and reflect on why we got into this field. Your opening paragraphs summed up your answer to this question before the BUT. We may need to question our identity as developers and realize something bigger brought us to this game. Surely, if you love to do something, continue until the day the path becomes intolerable. At that time, or better yet before, use this opportunity to find another road to continue nurturing the creative aspect that brought you to software development. Will it be easy? Most likely not. But it has less to do with AI and more with how we define ourselves and use those limitations to restrict the boundaries of probable solutions. Software is not the only answer should that day come. This awareness is the wake-up call AI can give us now. Do not allow anyone or anything to stifle your creative voice. Find an alternate outlet to express it and keep on expressing it. This is the ultimate satisfaction you reap as a developer beyond the salary and benefits. Software is only one such outlet unless you choose to tell yourself differently.
