DEV Community

hngbfv3399
hngbfv3399

Posted on

🤔 Is Development Really My Path? — How Can Junior Developers Survive in the Age of AI

I started learning programming when I was 15.

Back then, I mostly solved coding problems — focusing on syntax, logic, and small challenges.

But in 2025, I finally began real development — building actual projects, solving real problems, and writing code that matters.

Since then, I’ve started to understand what a codebase really means,

and the difference between good and bad code.

I can feel myself improving faster than before, probably because I’m building on the basics I already learned.

New technologies always excite me.

When Flutter was first released, I built small apps just to see how it worked.

When AI tools started to appear, I couldn’t help but feel amazed and inspired —

every new innovation makes me wonder, “What can I build with this?”

But despite my passion, I have to be honest:

my development skills still feel far from where I want them to be.

Because of financial problems at home, I can’t attend coding bootcamps or academies.

I study entirely through YouTube tutorials and developer blogs, learning everything I can on my own.

Sometimes, that makes me question myself.

“Is this really the right path for me?”

I’m currently preparing to become a Frontend Developer,

and I genuinely love programming — the logic, the creativity, the process of bringing ideas to life.

But as AI evolves so quickly, I often wonder:

💭 How can junior developers or self-taught learners keep up?

💭 What should we focus on to stay valuable — beyond just coding skills?

For context, I’m from South Korea, and I study programming independently here.

Even though I sometimes feel behind compared to others with more resources,

my passion for development keeps me going.

If you’ve ever been in a similar situation, I’d really love to hear your thoughts or advice.

Thanks for reading

Top comments (0)