Is Software Engineering Still Worth It in 2025?

Hi, I hope that you are doing well.

This will probably be my last article for 2024, and I hope you had a great year.

I had an interesting year, I would say—a lot of downs and bad, but thankfully, I think I am ending it on a high note, so I'm particularly happy about the achievements and what I accomplished this year. 🎉

So, I wanted to share what I think will make you a better developer in 2025. I plan to discuss many things, including AI.

You have people laid off every Friday. There are a lot of layoffs. Many companies are asking right now for people with better skills; developers are not wanted anymore (That’s a cap, by the way 🧢).

Is it worth learning software engineering in 2025? These are normal questions you should ask yourself, which is true. How do you ensure you can still live as a software engineer and not be replaced? 🤔

The Impact of AI on Software Engineering

First, let’s talk about the big boy in the room. Recently, your employer can finally employ AI for $500 monthly and replace you. They will finally be able to communicate with it quickly, ask it precisely what they need it to do, and get results without the usual back-and-forth.

AI won’t say, "We can’t do this; that will take time." I think this is a perfect tool for product managers.

It’s a slave. If someone is told, This is exactly what I want, execute it. I’m telling you guys, this is exactly what they wish to…

Anyway, let’s calm down with the jokes. But you understand that we talk a lot about being replaced by AI. If you had told me three years ago that we would be at the stage of OpenAI, ChatGPT, Devin, and many other tools right now, I would have said, No, you are tripping. Give me at least ten years.”

But the thing is, we are moving so much faster, to the point where many things are happening right now.

So, the first question is: will AI take over your job as a software engineer?

Suppose you are only a coder or a programmer, maybe if you are a beginner.

The thing is, software engineering is not only about coding. Coding represents about 30% to 40% of the work; the rest involves communication, planning, and ensuring the work benefits the company.

The easiest part of software engineering is actually writing the code. The harder part is understanding what to write, why to write it, and whether it’s necessary to write it at all. 💻

Becoming a Better Software Engineer

Let’s be honest, there’s a lot of things you can do in just one week, but it takes a lot of meetings, a lot of delays, because you have to think about things like: Does adding this feature to the application actually create value?

So those are a lot of questions you have to ask yourself as a software engineer. Can AI ask those questions? Can AI talk to the manager and explain why we should or shouldn’t add this feature and how it might affect the project or the users?

Will AI be able to come up with its ideas and put them out there to be helpful?

We already know that in terms of creativity, technically, AI cannot do that.

AI is quite capable of creativity, as my interpretation of creativity is copying. In my view, everything has already been invented. We are just building upon things. So technically, AI can be creative, but let’s not go there.

Preparing for the Future of Software Engineering

So my advice is: instead of being just a programmer, try to be a software engineer. At the end of the day, we are creating tools that will help people.

You must learn to review code, understand architecture, and contribute to high-level design decisions. 🏗️

You should also learn how to make money as a software engineer.

There are a lot of things you should learn to do to become a better software engineer. I understand that in some years, we might disappear—maybe I’m wrong here. But I don’t think AI can be a great software engineer right now.

So, if you are a good software engineer, you should not fear AI. Naturally, learn about the tool. Learn about AI. Don’t be afraid to jump into it, try out stuff, and be enthusiastic about the change. 🚀

Because I think the sooner you embrace it, the better you’ll understand it while you move to something else.

Many inventions have appeared in the world and replaced jobs. For example, people used to deliver newspapers, but with the rise of digital media, those roles became obsolete.

However, many of those individuals transitioned into new opportunities within the same industry, such as digital content creation, logistics, or other technology-driven roles.

They didn’t just disappear; they adapted, reskilled, and found ways to thrive in a changing world, often leveraging their existing knowledge in innovative ways.

Eventually, they had to reinvent themselves—and that’s okay.

After software engineering, I think something exciting awaits us. It will be much more interesting and complex than what we’re doing now.

So don’t be negative about it; just be ready for it.

Embrace it.

The next step is to focus on building impactful projects. Let’s discuss how to become better software engineers.

Final Thoughts

Next step is building. Let’s talk about how to be better as a software engineer.

Look, the market is savage right now.

Even if you are a general developer, if you do not come to the market as someone who can set up a complex application, scale it, and maintain it, you are not a good engineer.

I’m not telling you to lie or try to invent stuff, but the requirements to enter the domain are very high right now.

Before stepping in, you need to know many things and have done some complex stuff.

You indeed gain a lot of experience when you work in the field, but this is not exactly the case right now. They are waiting for you to have those notions already so you can come and apply them.

So how do you do that?

You have to create. And no, hell no. I’m not talking about to-do apps.

I’m not talking about weather apps (Bro, this is not 2019 anymore) or simple visualization apps. You have to do something complex.

When I talk about complex, I mean building something significant.

It might be a social media app with AI features, a compiler, or something equally interesting.

You can also try things like setting up a complicated infrastructure on AWS, simulating millions of requests to a server, and observing how it handles the load.

There’s no excuse not to learn about scaling, handling infrastructure, and understanding how these things work.

To see how it goes, you can reproduce existing architectures on a small scale.

There’s no time to wait to learn these things.

Take software engineering as a science. When approaching it this way, you realize you need theory and practice. 🧪

Sometimes, you practice on your own, sometimes on other projects, but you have to practice.

And you need to practice at a higher level than before.

Build something for yourself. Build something for your learning.

Do it, even if it’s a mini AWS or a mini data center set up in your apartment.

Try to build. Try to really build.

Now, on to making money as a software engineer.

This might be complicated but don’t stress about it.

It’s okay if you don’t know how to monetize your skills.

But if you learn to make money as a software engineer, that’s fantastic.💡

This is related to building things and putting them out there to sell.

Look, you might fail nine times out of ten, but one success can be very rewarding.

I make money by writing. I learn something, write about it, publish it, and people read it.

Sometimes, I get thousands of views; sometimes, I struggle to crack 100 views.

But at the end of the day, I feel happy about it. 😊

I also write for an agency, creating articles and content for companies.

And I’m thinking of launching my products.

So don’t stress about it— do something.

Finally, I want to say this: we must consider ourselves scientists in a rapidly evolving domain.

Be curious, embrace change, and keep learning.

Focus on hope and perseverance.

Whatever you are going through, know that hope can be the answer.

It’s ingrained in us as humans—it’s how we survive.

So keep learning, keep growing, and keep trying new things.

I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 🎄

Let’s make 2025 a great year for growth as software engineers.

Take care and see you next year.

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