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Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

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Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#401

Post by eldritch_4ier »

ilyt wrote: post #369
eldritch_4ier wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All points the horses made before cars all but replaced them. “The humans need to get from A to B and it’s not like they’ve gotten any faster with their own 2 legs”. How does this manager-engineer look like now? Managers specify what they need in plain language, and both parties go back and forth with increasing complexity to create based on the shared vision. Managers can already pull off a similar dance with ChatGP…

Manager would be easier to replace with ChatGPT than a software developer

Maybe. I’m not on anyone’s side here, just what makes sense.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#402

Post by quadcore »

kabes wrote: post #110

I'm not at all concerned with AI. On the short to mid term it's making my life easier by relieving me of the boring parts of my job. It's pretty good at writing unit tests for example. But I don't see the current generation of AI making complete software architectures. However, even when it does get there or in the long term a new generation comes along that can do it, then I'm still not concerned. I have enough soft…

I feel the same. It's the MacDonald's effect: increase offer, demand grows.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#403

Post by bobbruno »

I find it strange that so many people in this area get concerned about becoming obsolete. Back in college, I clearly remember a discussion we had (me and colleagues) about how our job was exactly to get us obsolete as soon as possible, so we could go do the next order of things.

I wish most of my real life work were exactly like that, it'd be much more fun.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#404

Post by oh_sigh »

cowl wrote: post #388
anon7725 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Since they hire software developers to make the specification more rigid, and the managers don't seem to be getting better at this over time, why would you believe this skill set is going to go away? Are we sure that an AI could not engage in enough back and forth conversation to firm up the spec? You’re kind of assuming that systems will be generated from a one-shot prompt, but it seems more likely that an interac…

Yes but even in that case The role will be of a "AI Prompter", it will not be done by the managers because of the time factor. Even though AI can give you the result much faster, building upon it and testing/verifying, then coming up with the refined prompt is a time consuming thing. Only the Write part of the write/eval loop will be faster but not neccesarily easier. Especially the "debuging" part will be much harde…

Why would sufficiently advanced AI even need a prompter? The AI could play the role of the greatest prompter in the world, and ask the same questions to the end user that the human prompter would.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#405

Post by eldritch_4ier »

worthless-trash wrote: post #373
ilyt wrote: post #369

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Manager would be easier to replace with ChatGPT than a software developer

And a founder likely easier again ;)

Maybe? A founders job is basically “execute the path to capitalize on the opportunity”. So you have to figure out the opportunity, and execute towards it by whatever means necessary - that’s a lot of jobs and hats. As long as there’s a human required to make a business possible, founders will exist. Get rid of software engineering, marketing, fundraising, identifying the opportunity, sales, customer support, etc then maybe all the founder does is make sure the machine keeps running. But at that point every other human job is automated too.

Founders are weird because their job is just to “do everything that needs to be done” so the role flows like water into any spot that isn’t already filled in a company. Replacing that seems like by definition you have to replace almost everyone else first.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#406

Post by Waterluvian »

AI might make code monkeys obsolete but not computer scientists or software engineers. If you’re worried, pay attention to all the non-trivial decisions you make each day that aren’t specifically about the lines of code. And how much daily social interaction is required for working as a team, building complex systems. Your job uses code but isn’t about coding.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#408

Post by kraig911 »

carlmr wrote: post #29

Looking back we had one CS professor who in 2007 predicted we'd all be jobless in ten years, i.e. 2017. His prediction was based on the trends he was seeing at the time. But it wasn't even AI. Instead he made this prediction because he saw the rise of no-code tools replacing software developers because managers could finally cut out the pesky "translators", i.e. software developers. I said it then and I will say it n…

I'd add to your point with one correction (but I think you're correct in terms of the translating) the stuff we work on is always a work in progress and usually the business doesn't know the problem until we're already almost about to ship. EG. Supposedly youtube was a dating site.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#409

Post by gumballindie »

goodpoint wrote: post #95
gumballindie wrote: post #12

Just avoid careers in software development. These are not high paying, if you factor in total time invested and spent working; and you have to waste your life away sitting in an office chasing tickets. Nothing engineery about it. It’s modern day assembly line work.

Here on HN everybody thinks they are going to be paid half a million a year.

Even if they did get paid half a mil, after tax it’s what a contractor earns in the uk. Probably have to pay private health care too and the cost of living is high. Not that much left.

Re: Build full “product skills” and you'll probably be fine

#410

Post by moneywoes »

chadash wrote: post #395
ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So exact in fact that they will need to specify a program in a click and drag interface, or in human language. This. I started programming in Machine Code, where the "editor" was a pad of graph paper. I've watched management- and business-focused people sneer at us geeks for my entire career, and watched them drool over the thought of finally getting rid of us. Hasn't happened yet. > I'd be surprised if the next st…

I agree with your characterization in general. If all someone has is an idea and no relevant experience to back it up, run. I can’t stand people like that. But there’s one type of ideas person I’m thrilled to work with. Someone with deep and successful experience in sales. The head of sales at my company is also relatively product oriented and boy, he just has a knack for what customers want. In general, I think many…

Besides opening your own company does a role exist where you can do both?
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