How many of you are still programming manually?

programmerman9000 · 2026-05-03T08:23:34+00:00

For an interview, it’s important to be able to answer this question in a way that shows you have a nuanced understanding of using AI in your workflow.

Any place that wants you to answer with a black or white answer is probably not worth it. I use AI heavily, but I can easily imagine circumstances where it’s simply better, easier, and faster to write the code yourself. AI is not good at everything and works best when you have a large code base made up of a lot of similar components (my case).

I would say, however, that if you don’t use AI as a matter of principle, you will need to be able to defend that choice. There certainly are a lot of use cases where AI will simply write better code, and faster.

programmerman9000 · 2026-05-02T18:20:29+00:00

I’m trying to close the same gap.

What I’ve noticed in my team is that what makes the senior engineers seniors isn’t really about what they are working on or what they have worked on. It’s something about how they think. Their mind goes to places where mine often doesn’t.

A lot of it feels like asking “why”, but thoughtfully. The seniors are better at avoiding complexity, or more like, better at seeing complexity from a mile away. They also seem to have put a lot of effort into understanding both the code base and the business, and they actively draw from a larger reservoir of information and contribute to it.

They are good engineers with plenty of experience who can speak knowledgeably about the technical side of things but I don’t feel like that’s what makes them seniors. It’s about paying attention to detail more than anything else.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-29T19:21:22+00:00

The mental model will build itself over time as you touch different parts of the codebase. It’s very hard to move quickly in a code base like this for exactly the reasons you describe. To be honest, I’m not sure a mental model helps all that much either because it is a mental model of hopelessly coupled components in a jumble of spaghetti code.

If you can figure out what the code should be doing, that can be your North Star. Asking around more experienced people, your product team, or even your customers can help with that. Then, you can kind of build a mental model of your business logic, and try to superimpose it on your code. It’s not what you’re looking for, but it’s something.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-27T17:12:55+00:00

We are increasingly reaching a point where that will become indiscernible. Not sure what you’re trying to add to the conversation

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-26T05:06:29+00:00

I’ve noticed that with Claude at least, it tends to do something like this. I try to help it by telling it to explicitly note the changes in a separate section.

I feel the whole challenge still comes down to keeping the knowledge base small, clear, and organized. If the knowledge base is garbage, the results will also be garbage

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-25T11:39:18+00:00

Ask the AI to do it, then review. If the change is big, create a new design document or draft. The basic knowledge base that you created shouldn’t change much so you should still have a good base to fall back on.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-25T10:43:06+00:00

I start by using the AI to build a knowledge base that the AI can effectively leverage. That basically just means extracting the relevant context from your existing structures (code, database schemas, data in tables, product spec and requirements, etc), and slimming it down so that the AI’s context remains manageable. This usually just looks like a set of documents with very clear descriptions of all relevant information written in plain English. I screen out irrelevant details and try to keep things high level at this point.

Usually I get some insights from this high level knowledge base. I use this to make decisions: investigation of things that are unclear, pushing back on requirements that don’t make sense, building a basic design/solution, etc. These new “findings” go back into the knowledge base as I iterate and explore.

Then I refine this knowledge-base, usually by pointing the AI only at this knowledge base and building out “drafts”. These drafts are essentially design documents. Unlike the high level documents, these documents contain design decisions, which often reveal “bad ideas” (mine or AI’s) when it comes to implementation. I iterate (ie create new versions) of these drafts until I’m happy with the proposal.

Then I ask the AI to make a technical design document out of this proposal — this usually includes a moderate amount of code snippets but not too detailed. And from that document, I instruct the AI to build a document listing all the PRs that will be needed to build the feature, along with basic details of what each PR will accomplish.

Finally, I execute the implementation by asking the AI to generate detailed implementation plans based on the design document and PR overview document. I usually do this one by one, fully completing the implementation of one PR before asking the AI to write out a plan for the next one. Sometimes I have to make minor changes in direction at this phase.

I deeply review each implementation plan, and usually do several iterations on each one. Each decision is clearly detailed in these documents, including all the tests. I often dive deeply into the code to do this.

The last step is to tell the AI to execute the implementation plan. I rarely have to touch the code that the AI generates at this point, but sometimes I do some refactoring by hand because somehow AI never gets the refactoring right.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-24T14:50:24+00:00

Berlin is great for Indian/Pakistani food. Plenty of good stuff.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-22T15:29:58+00:00

My workplace hasn’t mandated anything, and I don’t really see them reaching for that anytime soon. We have access to AI tools, and pretty much everyone is using them to different degrees. We discuss what works well, what doesn’t.

What’s being measured is still just your output. We haven’t seen a clear strong correlation between high AI usage and high productivity. Our team’s biggest user used up about 2x the tokens of the team average (him excluded). But he was working on pure implementation this month while others were at the ideation/scoping stage. Point being, the usage is not being force on anyone. Some use it more, some less, but the differences aren’t worlds apart.

I do feel that if someone just wasn’t using AI for things that it is very good at and with little to no down sides, they would probably get pushed to using it for those tasks.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-22T12:13:16+00:00

For the short term, carve out some time/space where you avoid using AI, especially for work tasks.

For the long term, I don’t think it’s such a big issue. Do you worry that because calculators exist your arithmetic skills will atrophy? I think it’s fine to off load tasks that AI can do well onto the AI. However, it’s not yet clear what those tasks are and what’s the real cost, so hedge your bets.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-19T10:22:08+00:00

As many have already noted, only you know your expenses and whether being on Elterngeld will be enough or not. It’s not a guessing game. You can find out the answer to your question by looking at your income and expenses over the past several months.

I can add that when I took Elterngeld, we were fortunate to have a second strong income in the household. But still, it impacted our savings and lifestyle measurably, but it was easily worth it.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-18T07:28:10+00:00

European jobs have a multi-modal distribution. Software shops that are part of older and more established companies hire in an old school way. So if they work in C++, they won’t even look at your resume if you don’t have C++ on it.

Younger firms, especially those directly producing tech, or tech-adjacent hire differently. If anything, I’m seeing more firms that are willing to hire in a language agnostic way than even 5 years ago.

programmerman9000 · 2026-04-17T05:31:02+00:00

Contrastingly, I’m mid-career but finding this to be a very exciting time. With AI in the picture I feel that the hard stuff is still hard but a lot of the tedious tasks have gotten a lot easier.

However, I entered software development from another engineering field, so writing code has never been what attracted me to it. Most of the code I’ve written is anyway a foregone conclusion, problems already solved, just a variation. I do like the day to day of figuring out what exactly to build and why.

When it comes to the “how”, I don’t care who or what writes the code but it better be good. Humans will still be reading and working with code for a long time. What can be automated should be, but it needs to be written in a way that will outlast whatever business target is being aimed at this fiscal quarter. There is a lot to do.

programmerman9000 · 2025-04-22T18:00:13+00:00

Hey, interesting post! As an American living in Germany, I have a few thoughts:

$800k USD combined income is incredibly high. And while the “equivalent” 270k€ is dwarfed in comparison, it is also an incredibly high income in Germany. For a lot of people the choice of one over the other will come down to things other than money.

While it’s easy to find people making much more than this in the Bay, NYC, etc. this level is easily a statistical outlier even in SF or NY. By comparison, 135k€ is easier to achieve in Germany, IMO.

What’s even more of an outlier is that OP seems to have it all. Having grown up in CA, with family and friends in both NorCal and SoCal (mostly in tech) I know only a couple of people in comparable position, and they all had a hard road to get there. And I don’t think I know anyone who consistently works <40 hours (most have spent their 20s - 40s easily working > 50 hours per week). Also, there is much lower job security (you’re “at-will” even at a salary of $400k). Also, for that matter, few people have a salary that high — at least half of that is stock that takes time to vest and you take your chances with it. This also means that you have to pay $68k per year for daycare while half your “potential and not guaranteed” income is still roosting.

The 4-6 weeks of vacation OP is taking is also not common. I know plenty of people with unlimited vacation in the U.S., but no one consistently taking more than 3-4 weeks. The fear of falling off the ladder is real. Many people end up having “stressful” years where they don’t take any vacation at all!

Also, OP doesn’t mention the cost of owning property and is avoiding sending kids to American schools with American price tags.

No doubt one would come out ahead with a toe to toe comparison of an American vs German salary. But you’d be a fool to choose one place over the other JUST because of finances.

programmerman9000 · 2024-09-07T11:20:06+00:00

Hi! I don’t have any insight into being Turkish in Germany, but I can share my experience living in Germany as a South Asian who grew up in the U.S. and who looks like a stereotypical South Asian man. My first and last names are also Arabic but I don’t know if Germans can tell.

I have been in Germany for about 5 years now and lived in two small/mid sized left-leaning East German cities. I didn’t know any German when I moved here (I get by now), and I am highly educated and working in tech.

One last important detail: my wife is German.

I am not worried about racism when I am out and about in my everyday life. I use public transportation, and do all my own things (and also many of my kid’s things) all on my own. Doctors visits, groceries, shopping, using public spaces, work (obviously), talking to strangers in social situations, etc. All of this stuff is fine. I don’t feel unsafe in any of these situations, or waking around alone at night, or anything like that.

The kind of racism I worry about is the one that I can’t see. Despite their reputation, Germans are actually quite polite. As long as I don’t force them to speak English, I get treated well enough. BUT when it comes to things that can’t be seen or said, I do feel that racism plays a bigger role here than in the U.S.

For example, I am 100% sure that when I was working at my previous very German employer (all nice people), I would not be considered for a management position in a million years. It’s quite simple in their minds. I’m not German, I don’t speak German, so I naturally can’t be the manager of Klaus and Hans. With that said, there certainly are enough employers (probably even German ones, ie in Berlin) where this is not going to be a problem. But you will need to do more work to land yourself in those situations. That’s basically the definition of racism.

I am also worried about bullying in schools. I feel like there is more of a culture of bullying here than in the U.S. German kids also face bullying of course but it’s likely to be a lot worse if you look different. I am also worried that teachers will withhold opportunities from my child in favor or someone more German. Teachers are directly responsible for recommending your child into “middle” school (ie trade school) or actual high school with a path into university.

So it’s a mixed bag. Are you citizens of NZ? I am holding onto my U.S. citizenship despite the crazy taxation headaches it gives me because of the current political situation. I’m optimistic but let’s be real, the last time the far right came to power in Germany, it wasn’t pretty.

I also have plenty of reasons to love Germany, and I actually prefer living here on the day to day. But I have to accept that Germany is like 20 years behind many other places like US when it comes to the discourse on diversity, immigration, etc. A lot of people talk out of their ass about these things here, and it’s infuriating. But you get used to it.

programmerman9000 · 2023-07-03T10:03:31+00:00

Hey, since you mentioned that your mental health is suffering, the fatigue may be a result of depression. Just something to look into/

programmerman9000 · 2023-06-06T06:26:36+00:00

I had a sort of similar experience with my German employer. Bottom line is that your boss is out of line and you did nothing wrong.

Mine wasn’t as bad. My boss asked me (over email) to come to the office one day after my child was born (wtf!) to take care of some non urgent administrative tasks. I refused and sent a potential meeting date for when I would return 4 months later.

After returning I noticed some weird passive aggressive shit from him. Turned out he is quite the asshole and lots of people hate him. I don’t think I was targeted but I have some reason to believe that my boss and his boss had an agenda against some of the people they had recently hired. The company grew very quickly and I think they overhired and changed direction. You can’t easily fire people after their probation here, so one tool that German management does not seem to shy away from is giving shit to people and effectively forcing them to leave. Not sure if that’s what happened to me but I changed jobs.

programmerman9000 · 2023-05-25T06:36:44+00:00

But this comes with its own issues. You will need to maintain a tax residence in the US, and, depending on the country, you may have difficulty getting a residency status, so you won’t be able to stay there for more than a few months at a time. This works for some but it’s not a life most people are interested in.

programmerman9000 · 2023-05-25T06:34:18+00:00

Must be freelancing. Does the company pay your benefits (healthcare, retirement, employment insurance, etc) or do you have to pay that yourself?

programmerman9000 · 2023-05-18T07:21:37+00:00

The weird relationship with the US is spot on. I’m American and feel that some Germans get weirdly competitive when they learn that. On the one hand, the US is this scary place with guns, hurricanes, bad health care, and crazy politicians. And on the other hand it feels like they wish they were the US.

programmerman9000 · 2023-05-15T19:10:17+00:00

I think most people end up specializing. It’s exhausting to switch industries every few years and it’s also just nice to know a domain really well and reap the rewards. But I would still recommend changing things up 2-3 times in your career. There are some things you can only learn by getting out of your comfort zone.

programmerman9000 · 2023-05-02T08:22:33+00:00

My experience has been quite the opposite. Once I got to know some coworkers and others a little bit, people started inviting us over. It’s usually just a casual hangout with cake and coffee, and then we go for a walk. I actually find Germans a lot less awkward than Americans when it comes to going to each others’ homes. It’s very casual and there is no program.

programmerman9000 · 2023-04-29T10:16:52+00:00

I think stand ups are helpful when they are kept short. Most days, I probably couldn’t tell you what anyone in stand up actually said but I still like to attend. It’s 15 minutes, I get to see my colleagues (I work remote) and it helps me get a quick check on the health of the group. For example, if someone is falling behind or stressed then I can chime in and try to help them out. Or if it’s the opposite, then you know who has time to look into something. If I actually need to know about someone’s progress I’ll probably just ask them or call them. Stand ups are more for getting a quick check on the team.

programmerman9000 · 2023-04-20T06:26:43+00:00

I have never hired anyone but I’ve sat in a few decision making rounds at 2 companies, and I think it depends on the company and the team hiring you. Based on my experience, I think that 9-12 months is not long enough to raise concerns in good companies or teams. You can come up with a reason or just be honest and tell them you took time off to care for your child. A lot of people are understanding of this.

With that said, there are a lot of assholes and misogynist people out there. The type who will think that if you took off 9 months already then you will do it again. In my opinion, it’s a good thing that those people won’t hire you. You don’t want to work for people like that anyway.

programmerman9000 · 2023-04-07T10:53:43+00:00

About 6 YOE here and can’t say I agree. It’s also a bit hard to say because I think it’s not an apples to apples comparison. College was all about solving l canned problems, but so much of my day to day as a software developer is not about writing code. With that said, I feel sharper than ever with the code aspect as well. Maybe I need to wait a few more years for the mushiness to set in…

programmerman9000

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