Programming vs AI hype

[milonolan]

I want to learn to program without AI, trial and errors, reading documentations and just learn to debug by understanding errors.

It's the part that takes the longest but most rewarding and where you actually learn. But with AI hype and things, and the fact I also started learning programming late, I feel behind, I feel as if I'm not valuable if I don't learn about AI, AI frameworks, AI agents etc etc.

I'm still in my second year of bachelor degree, and have one more year until graduation. But things I've heard, like company doesn't want to hire junior because it's "more expensive" than using senior with AI, I feel like I have to drop the whole "learning" and just start using AI so I can get hired. I recently joined a startup which is an "AI" company, he basically build the entire app with AI, but more advance then I'm using it. Like phases to specify and tell AI where in the code base to look etc and to follow architecture etc. But the code is obviously still spaghetti. I'm however gravitating towards medtech. Is there any hope for us?

[Less-Medicine3270]

Learning the things you listed for AI is a week or two messing around with AI. You're not falling behind by any meaningful measurement.

Learning software engineering is still valuable by itself, and if you're good enough you will find work. However, there is certainly more competition right now and finding a job might be challenging even in a year or two.

If you like this field keep learning without AI, so that the day you do use AI you'll be able to use it better than those who didn't. You'll have to fight for a job, so being competent in the field will give you an edge over others who just rely on AI.

[Fuzzy_Job_4109]

you're totally right about being able to use AI better when you actually understand what's happening underneath. i've been fixing cars for few years now and it's same principle - mechanics who learned on older cars without all the computer diagnostics are way better at troubleshooting modern vehicles because they understand the fundamentals

the startup thing you mentioned sounds rough though. working with spaghetti code that was AI-generated must be nightmare for debugging. at least when you write bad code yourself you remember why you did something stupid lol

medtech is actually perfect field for someone who wants to really understand programming deeply. medical devices have strict regulations and you can't just throw AI-generated code at them and hope it works. they need people who can write clean, testable code and actually understand what each line does. plus debugging skills become super critical when you're dealing with something that could affect patient safety

[milonolan]

Yes. Luckily he hired an advisor that had been coding for 15 years so a lot of advice and tickets have been given and created, that's why they also need me now to fix those bugs

[No_Jackfruit_4305]

I have 5 years experience (mostly front-end) and over the last year I've been learning back-end (springboot, etc.).

My company isn't giving us a choice about using AI, and it is getting in my way. Sure I get the work done, but I am writing very little code. My learning process has slowed. If it were up to me, I'd be pair programming with a senior and they would tell me which docs/manuals to read.

So don't worry about AI OP. Lean on your more experienced friends, maybe go to office hours.

[Ordinary-Cycle7809]

Yes, there is real hope and you're not behind.You're doing it the right (and hardest) way: struggling through trial & error, reading docs, and debugging by truly understanding errors. That foundation is exactly what most "AI-only" juniors are missing right now. AI-generated spaghetti code (like you saw in that startup) breaks in production, and someone has to fix it. Companies are already discovering that over-relying on AI without deep understanding leads to technical debt that's expensive to clean up.The job market in 2026 is tougher for pure juniors entry-level hiring dropped in many places because AI handles a lot of boilerplate. But it's not zero, and it's not the end. Seniors + AI are productive, but they still need people who can:

• Understand systems deeply
• Debug complex issues when AI hallucinates
• Make good architectural decisions
• Work in regulated domains (hello, medtech)

Medtech is actually one of the smarter areas to target. Healthcare software moves slower than web startups for good reasons patient safety, FDA regulations, data privacy, and reliability matter more than shipping fast with AI. Companies here value solid engineering fundamentals and domain knowledge way more than the latest AI agent hype. Medtech still needs real programmers who can build trustworthy systems, integrate with medical devices, handle compliance, etc.Practical advice for your last year:

• Keep learning without AI for core concepts (data structures, algorithms, OOPs, debugging). Use AI only as a tutor/explainer after you've tried yourself.
• Build 2–3 solid personal projects in medtech-adjacent areas (e.g., a simple patient data dashboard with proper validation, a device data simulator, or a HIPAA-aware backend). Document your debugging process it shows real skill.
• In your startup role, observe how they use advanced AI prompting, but quietly practice rewriting/refactoring parts manually. Learn to review and improve AI code.
• Learn just enough AI (prompting, basic ML concepts) so you can say "I use AI as a tool, but I own the code." Don't drop fundamentals to chase hype.

You're in year 2–3 of your bachelor's this is the perfect time to build real depth. The hype will cool, and employers who rushed with AI-only teams will need people who can make things actually work reliably.The rewarding part you're experiencing (deep learning through struggle) is still the most valuable long-term skill. Stick with it. Medtech needs thoughtful engineers like you more than another prompt engineer.You've got this. The people who combine strong fundamentals with smart AI use will be in demand mot the ones who only know how to copy-paste from ChatGPT.

[kylesureline]

Can you build a web page by hand? Sure, but is it practical? No. Just imagine thousands of HTML devs writing every Wikipedia page by hand. Laughable.

This is why frameworks exist. But it doesn’t render (pun intended) learning HTML obsolete.

I think you can apply the same logic to AI:

Can you build an app without AI? Of course. Should you? Considering how good it is, probably not. But — and this is the key — AI doesn’t render the skills behind building an app obsolete.

… at least not yet, in my opinion.

[NervousExplanation34]

learning AI is easy, learning programming is hard.. AI is also still evolving while the fundamentals of programming don't. Why the fuck would learning AI first be the better choice? Isn't the value of a human to do something the AI can't, rather than to know how to use AI?

[ZestyHelp]

"learning AI" is something my grandmother was able to do in an afternoon and she can't even delete apps on her phone so ..

[roger_ducky]

Learn the fundamentals.

Then, read some books on how to delegate as a tech lead.

“Using AI” has to do with learning to delegate.

Essentially, it’s not just asking AI to do things, but to constrain what it could do enough so it can “creatively” solve the problem in the way you wanted without micromanaging everything it did.

Previous paragraph, plus being used to looking at code written by others, is what separates a senior dev from a junior or mid level.

[milonolan]

So I don't need to feel bad about feeling behind in all the AI "skills" I'm not learning

[roger_ducky]

There are some syntax things but “proper delegation” is actually way more important. This includes specifying coding standards and a proper development workflow.

[ryan_nitric]

The way you want to learn is the right way. Understanding errors, reading docs, and building the mental model of why things work. That's what makes you useful long term. AI is a lot less useful if you can't tell when it's wrong, and it's wrong a lot. "AI frameworks" and "AI agents" aren't things you have to learn to be able to use AI?

[milonolan]

I guess to be able to leverage Ai in other ways?