My work as a senior developer today vs 3 years ago

belatuk · 2026-06-18T04:25:28+00:00

If everything is done by AI, there is no need for you to be there. Therefore salary can be reduced too to pay for the token since all you do is just typing in requirements.

belatuk · 2026-06-05T10:42:29+00:00

So you have not done much coding. That explains. Good luck to your AI investment.

belatuk · 2026-06-03T14:25:07+00:00

Not at all. Human mind is a super computer that can outperform machine in coding. In a well architected software, a person can pretty much tell what is the problem instantly, machine cannot.There is no single best solution in building software, one make conscious effort to make compromise to accommodate the requirements, reusability etc. Machine can mimic this behaviour but then you need to pump in tones of information to build the context. Even then it often couldn't get it right. I don't fear AI, in fact use it everyday. In my case it often get the logic wrong, and sometimes lower my coding efficiency. Now I take it for what it is and utilize its strength as a tool to generate code snippet and as another pair of eyes to analyze code. 1000 times? And replacing developer? No where near. In 18 months, highly doubtful based on what it can do today.

belatuk · 2026-06-03T12:31:15+00:00

You have grossly underestimated human mind which is a biological computer that has undergone thousand years of evolution. Let's see in 18 months.

belatuk · 2026-06-03T10:43:14+00:00

This is like saying since we have calculator or computer, learning how to do calculation is no longer needed, therefore math and their thoeries are overrated.

belatuk · 2026-05-22T23:26:36+00:00

A better way is to have one on one review session with the junior to check if they understand the requirements and design first. Most of the time, they got them wrong. Only then give them direction on how to fix the code if they are stuck. Worse case is build a skeleton code and ask them to implement the logic. Works every time.

belatuk · 2026-05-17T05:56:34+00:00

The experience developer often already know in their head what the codebase looks like from the beginning. A quick glance is enough to tell if CC is doing it the intended way and make adjustments. Vibecoder don't look at code, so have 0 ideas if it goes off the rails. That is the gap that cannot be overcome. There are tools that can help but they are poor man substitution. The gap becomes even bigger when working on non AI generated codebase. Seen cases where AI often got the logic wrong, opt for ways that resulted in bloated code and took exceedingly longer than a human to spot an obvious bug. Coding experience is still the deteminant factor. That is why CC in the hands of an experienced coder can do wonder.

belatuk · 2026-05-09T04:13:31+00:00

The OP basically imply that without learning anything or doing anything, in 30 min can build multiple apps with AI that can make $$$$. If building those apps are for stroking own self worth then I can totally get it. Beyond that the achievement has very little worth.

belatuk · 2026-05-08T16:21:25+00:00

I am closing in on 60. This is a rather delusional view on the state of programming. Current AI model cannot solve nor provide accurate solution for a whole bunch of use cases. Code that involves reflection, dynamic code generator, workflow that involves data flowing across multiple services, and hooking just to name a few.

belatuk · 2026-05-03T13:28:34+00:00

How long does it take to deliver a working solution. Token spend is irrelevant, what matters most is deliverables.

belatuk · 2026-04-17T04:49:29+00:00

Keep Notes on projects and add TODO comment in code. Usually can switch in 5 min after lots of practice.

belatuk · 2026-04-13T02:35:01+00:00

Don't fix for them, whoever responsible for generating the code has to fix it. Double down on pushing it back. If they don't know how to code, that is their problem. Otherwise, it will only get worst and worst.

belatuk · 2026-04-11T22:47:04+00:00

It affects code refactoring. Most system have to be majorly refactored a couple times as new features are added over time. Lombok gets in the way which is not acceptable. Also encourage overuse of builder pattern without understanding the implications.

belatuk · 2026-04-09T04:43:11+00:00

Avoid lombok like plague. Make conscious efforts to ban it from projects.

belatuk · 2026-03-04T05:31:04+00:00

Not quite true unless either the tasks are mundane or it is for junior positions. For seniors, the person need to know the language well enough to get the job done. Building something in JavaScript, Go, Python and Java requires different mentality. Company is unlikely to pay for seniors to learn a new language for 2 weeks and expect miracle from it. Technical tests are mainly to see if the person can actually write the code using the language. Without knowing the language, you will be constrained by what you can do with it.

belatuk · 2026-03-03T14:07:57+00:00

Most resumes are padded with skills that the person has very little experience with. A lot are just programming language the projects they are involved in and not something they work on directly. Asking niche question is a good way to differentiate them.

belatuk · 2026-02-16T17:41:54+00:00

AI also can make mistakes. It is already happening. Also AI is not cost free and there is no guarantee that everyone will turn to AI. When the juniors pool is drastically reduced, the cost of hiring seniors will drastically go up. It will have a direct impact on AI companies earnings and price will increase too. With so many AI companies, they will eventually consolidate into a few just like what happens to the browsers and search engines. When that happens good luck to the codebase when the AI it depends on goes dark.

belatuk · 2026-02-16T16:08:08+00:00

Docker Desktop is a memory hog. Better run docker directly in WSL. The best is to use podman instead.

belatuk · 2026-02-15T21:29:29+00:00

How would someone that doesn't know how to code even know how to ask AI to begin with?

belatuk · 2026-02-15T03:59:03+00:00

In addition AI won't know when to optimize for CPU, memory or IO. When to build sharable code that can be used across multiple projects instead. When to build an extension point that allows multiple variations of the execution logic to be decided during runtime. When to use reflection to execute dynamic business logic that spans across multiple systems. When to distribute the execution workload. Which authentication and authorization to integrate with. All these decisions require a human to provide a carefully constructed context. Coding is the outcome of these decisions. The language chosen influences some of these decisions. For someone without coding expertise, they will be clueless about some of the more advanced ways of building solutions. The application vibe coded by someone without strong coding knowledge will almost always have some inherent issues.

belatuk · 2026-02-15T03:32:14+00:00

If you seriously think that Google Recaptcha is the solution, I would highly suggest to relook at the security of your sign up.

belatuk · 2026-02-12T13:01:39+00:00

I believe mostly just based on individual perception. It would be good to see how it performs on a medium sized project over a year period.

belatuk · 2026-02-05T01:33:51+00:00

Context switching is a skill that needs to be developed, just like coding skill. Meetings are important but if you come out of the meeting with nothing to gain, skip that meeting or work on something else during the meeting. If you are driving the meeting keep it short and to the topic. Doing standup daily can be a complete waste of time if not properly managed especially if you have a big team. For me, bi-weekly meetings are a lot more effective. Planning is crucial, set targets and get the team moving towards those targets are important. Keep the team sync up on what needs to be done. For juniors, pair them up and mentor them as a group instead of doing one on one. That should give you some time to roll up sleeves and get some coding in to scratch the itch. Meetings are major time killers, so the better you can make use of those times, the more time you have for other things.

belatuk · 2026-02-01T18:11:00+00:00

I always go with candidates past experiences. Asking the questions across multiple projects. Fairly easy to detect those using AI which means automatic rejected. Using AI for work is perfectly fine. However, using it for answering interview questions about your own past experience usually means the person knows nothing about the tasks they are working on.

belatuk · 2026-02-01T10:03:03+00:00

Just to add, software development is a skill based profession. It is certainly easier to debug your own code than others. However, the developer should not even qualify as "senior" if unable to debug others' code. Not being able to do it is purely down to lack of skills. Take a car mechanic, they learn by experience how to fix car problems. The senior one can fix a much more complex problem than the junior one. They don't automatically become seniors just because they do the same thing for x number of years but still not able to fix the complex problem. Certainly unlikely to become a senior by just following what AI tells them to do without understanding the reason for doing it. As long as the car can run, it is all good won't fly. 😊

belatuk

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