I want to talk about something I’ve been feeling for a long time, and I think many people like me feel it too, but we don’t always say it clearly.
Software engineering is slowly shifting from a mass career to a high-skill profession.
More like finance or medicine.
Less like a factory pipeline.
And this is not hype. This is not fear. This is just what I’m seeing around me.
Where I am coming from
I am from India.
Small town.
Tier-3 college.
Graduated recently.
Like most people around me, I was told one simple story growing up:
“Learn coding, get into IT, life is set.”
And for many years, that story was true.
There was a clear path:
- learn basics
- get a junior job
- grow slowly
- become mid-level
- then senior
The industry had space for a lot of average people.
Not dumb people. Just normal people who needed time.
That time was provided by junior roles.
What changed (and everyone feels it)
Now with AI, something big changed.
The work that juniors used to do:
- CRUD
- simple features
- bug fixing
- writing boilerplate
- copying patterns
AI does this extremely well.
Not 50%.
Not 70%.
Honestly, very very well.
So companies are asking:
“Why hire 10 juniors when 3 seniors + AI can do it?”
And that one question is quietly reshaping the whole industry.
The ladder is disappearing
Earlier the industry had a ladder:
junior → mid → senior
Now it feels like:
prove-you’re-mid → maybe become senior
The bottom layer is shrinking.
Not because software is dying.
But because human beginner work is dying.
This is the part nobody wants to say openly.
Expectations are insane now
Even for “junior” roles, companies want:
- system design
- cloud
- DevOps
- AI tools
- good communication
- production experience
So basically:
“Be experienced, but with zero experience.”
This is not just India.
This is US, Europe, everywhere.
The title still says “Junior”.
The reality says “Almost senior”.
Why it feels like finance or medicine now
Look at finance or medicine:
Not everyone can enter.
Not everyone survives.
Not everyone gets rich.
You need:
- fast learning
- strong base
- mental stamina
- continuous pressure
Software is moving in the same direction.
Earlier it was a mass career:
millions could enter, slowly learn, find a place.
Now it’s becoming a high-skill profession:
small percentage thrive, many struggle to enter.
The uncomfortable truth
The world is not running out of software work.
It is running out of safe learning jobs.
So what happens to all the graduates every year?
In India alone, millions graduate in tech.
But:
- entry roles are shrinking
- training budgets are shrinking
- patience is shrinking
So many people will:
- move to non-dev roles
- leave tech silently
- feel “I’m not good enough”
- blame themselves
Even though it’s actually a structural change, not personal failure.
This is not a cycle, this is a shift
Earlier bad job markets were cycles:
- 2008
- 2020
This feels different.
Because AI doesn’t go backwards.
Once companies learn they can ship faster with fewer humans, they won’t suddenly go back to old ways just to be nice.
The real impact is psychological
The biggest damage is not even technical.
It’s this feeling:
- always late
- always behind
- always catching up
- always one tool away from being outdated
Earlier you could relax for a year and still be okay.
Now one year feels like ten.
Final honest line
Software engineering is not dying.
But the easy entry version of it is dying.
It’s becoming:
- more elite
- more stressful
- more unequal
- more unforgiving
And for people like me:
small town, tier-3 college, normal background —
the gap feels bigger than ever.
Not because we are worse.
But because the ladder itself is getting shorter.
I’m not pessimistic.
I’m not optimistic either.
I’m just realistic.
This industry is still powerful.
Still exciting.
Still meaningful.
But it’s no longer a factory pipeline for mass middle-class dreams.
It’s becoming a high-skill arena.
And everyone entering now should at least know that truth —
before blaming themselves for a system that quietly changed.
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