5 ms·

If juniors are being cut out and seniors are being increasingly relied upon to do more and more, that seems to be unsustainable in the long term

by np- 2y ago

danenania 2y ago
The flip side of this is that AI tools can enable much faster learning, so the time to go from junior to senior can potentially become much shorter for people who are motivated.
- 3D39739091 2y ago
  If anything, AI tools are doing the opposite. You don't acquire those skills by outsourcing your thinking to an LLM.
  - danenania 2y ago
    It depends how you use them. If your goal is learning and understanding, you will use LLMs much differently than if your goal is to produce copy-pastable code with as little effort as possible. Honestly, I do a bit of both depending on the situation. Sometimes I just want a one-off script that does xyz and I don't really care enough to have a deep understanding of every detail. Other times I'm getting a crash course in some advanced concept and in an hour I have knowledge that previously only someone with years of experience in a niche domain (and a lot of patience for my dumb questions) could have given me.
- solarmist 2y ago
  It could (and ultimately I agree it's probably what they should), but that's not what people are seeing juniors do. They're seeing them blindly trust the AI tools and think they don't have to learn what they're doing. So they're building at best a fragle understanding of the code their writing.
  - danenania 2y ago
    Since the results of that approach are predictably bad, I think it will sort itself out. A junior who works like that is already less productive than an LLM in the hands of a skilled engineer, so there isn't really any reason to keep that junior around. But a junior who is using LLMs to rapidly improve their skills can be seen as a good investment even if it takes them some time to become a net positive on the team.
    - solarmist 2y ago
      I agree, but I think it'll take far longer to happen than people expect. Kids are making it all the way through college (at state or regional universities) without needing to adjust this approach at all. These kids are going to be convinced that it's a valid strategy. I'd be surprised if many didn't claim they were being unfaily discriminated against in their first couple of jobs instead of fixing the behavior.
karmajunkie 2y ago
welcome to capitalism…

If juniors are being cut out and seniors are being increasingly relied upon to do more and more, that seems to be unsustainable in the long term

by np- 2y ago

If juniors are being cut out and seniors are being increasingly relied upon to do more and more, that seems to be unsustainable in the long term

danenania 2y ago

The flip side of this is that AI tools can enable much faster learning, so the time to go from junior to senior can potentially become much shorter for people who are motivated.

3D39739091 2y ago
If anything, AI tools are doing the opposite. You don't acquire those skills by outsourcing your thinking to an LLM.
- danenania 2y ago
  It depends how you use them. If your goal is learning and understanding, you will use LLMs much differently than if your goal is to produce copy-pastable code with as little effort as possible. Honestly, I do a bit of both depending on the situation. Sometimes I just want a one-off script that does xyz and I don't really care enough to have a deep understanding of every detail. Other times I'm getting a crash course in some advanced concept and in an hour I have knowledge that previously only someone with years of experience in a niche domain (and a lot of patience for my dumb questions) could have given me.
solarmist 2y ago
It could (and ultimately I agree it's probably what they should), but that's not what people are seeing juniors do. They're seeing them blindly trust the AI tools and think they don't have to learn what they're doing. So they're building at best a fragle understanding of the code their writing.
- danenania 2y ago
  Since the results of that approach are predictably bad, I think it will sort itself out. A junior who works like that is already less productive than an LLM in the hands of a skilled engineer, so there isn't really any reason to keep that junior around. But a junior who is using LLMs to rapidly improve their skills can be seen as a good investment even if it takes them some time to become a net positive on the team.
  - solarmist 2y ago
    I agree, but I think it'll take far longer to happen than people expect. Kids are making it all the way through college (at state or regional universities) without needing to adjust this approach at all. These kids are going to be convinced that it's a valid strategy. I'd be surprised if many didn't claim they were being unfaily discriminated against in their first couple of jobs instead of fixing the behavior.

karmajunkie 2y ago

welcome to capitalism…