I pity all those learning to code post chatgpt
"They'll never know the feeling of finally solving a problem after going at it for 24 hours."
I hear this sentiment a lot. And honestly? I get it.
I mean the dopamine hit from solving a problem that was holding you down for days was crazy good(sometimes you still even won't know why it finally worked)
It felt like earning your stripes.A brain massage if you may. Now all that being said....
But I can't help but think some of us want to live in the past.
Isn't what we have now objectively better? I know the application of it is mostly flawed especially in the school system but for this lets assume it's being used wisely.
We used to spend hours just to realize we missed a semicolon.(I do not miss this specifically)
That wasn't problem-solving, that was just a syntax bump
You can still have the pleasure of finishing your projects, though if it takes you too little effort and time it's not the same thing. You won't get the same hit.
So these days with AI I always tell people the bar has gotten higher and just simple projects are not going to cut it. Whether it's your dopamine hit or in the processional space, the bar is very high.
We aren't coding just to debug; we are coding to build. If AI lets new learners skip the frustration and get straight to the shipping, I'll take that trade every time.
And for anyone who shares the nostalgic sentiment;
Do you really pity them or you're angry they have it easier?
Or is it the tech debt that icks you?
I'd like to hear what you think in the comments.
Top comments (13)
the framing shift is important here. learning to code with AI isnt cheating, its just a different skill. you still need to understand what the code does, you still need to debug it when it breaks, and you still need to know enough to tell the AI when its wrong.
if anything AI raised the bar for what counts as useful knowledge. memorizing syntax is less valuable now but understanding architecture, tradeoffs, and debugging is more valuable than ever. the people who treat AI as a replacement for learning will plateau fast. the ones who use it as a learning accelerator will go further than any of us did.
I get you, I really do but people do use it to "cheat" and end up not learning anything
fair point. the distinction i'd draw is between using AI as a shortcut to skip understanding vs using it as a tool to accelerate learning. someone who copies AI output without reading it isn't learning, but someone who uses it to explore patterns, then modifies and tests the code, is learning faster than reading docs alone. the tool isn't the problem, the intent is.
To be honest I think that PM skills are now more important than coding skills.
You are on to something surely
On the contrary, this is a golden era to start coding. But avoid too many shortcuts, its important to keeping learning software fundamentals. System design and theory are increasingly important in the age of AI. And so is product mindset an design, with the ability to shape products through fast iterations.
I'd probably have this stance too
I agree. The key is doing it right
It truly is a weird time to be a dev.
A very weird time to be a dev. The future is sooo uncertain
Doomed? Far from it, we shall ride the AI wave together if we adapt rightly and use AI as the multiplier/time saver tool for us.
And I agree on the dopamine hit :-)
Thanks for writing.
yeah, I think objectlively it speeds up learning. And thanks for engaging.
Thanks for your note and a few related discussions are on at these links, in case interested:
dev.to/shitij_bhatnagar_b6d1be72/d...
dev.to/the_nortern_dev/the-junior-...