Why equating AI to a junior developer is misleading at best.
After listening to the latest Reqless episode with Kurt Schrader – insightful as ever – there’s one thing I need to get off my chest. I get why people compare AI to junior developers, but it doesn’t sit right with me. AI might be great at churning out code, but juniors bring something AI simply can’t: growth, reasoning, and the ability to develop real understanding over time. The comparison isn’t just misleading – it undervalues what junior developers actually bring to the table.
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?
From the moment I started as a developer – though I wasn’t exactly a straight-out-of-school junior – I noticed a certain condescension toward junior developers in our industry. Sometimes it’s framed as a joke, but the underlying sentiment is still there.
I’ve never quite understood why. Plenty of so-called senior developers occasionally write bad code or make poor decisions – myself included – while many juniors often produce great work – my former self included, I hope. A good engineering culture should foster growth, not diminish those who just starting out. Worse, this attitude skews how we mentor and hire developers.
Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?
What even is a junior or senior developer? Usually it's tied to years of experience – whatever experience that may be. I won't dig too deep here; it's enough to say that a person is so much more than just their time in a specific field.
I'm afraid these titles have more to do with sales and marketing than any real meaning. Another buzzword that never fails to send shivers down my spine – especially in consultancy – is expert. But let's not open that can of worms.
Mama, just killed the junior developer
While I’m not denying that there’s a difference between a junior and a senior developer, equating AI to a junior dev is misleading at best. AI lacks reasoning, intuition, and context awareness – essential traits of even a beginner developer. This comparison oversimplifies things and undervalues human learning and adaptability. AI is a tool, and like any tool, its effectiveness depends on how it’s used.
Maybe I just have a knee-jerk reaction to the culture of dismissing juniors. The comparison might sound less like an insult if it simply means: work once given to a junior is now given to an AI agent. But if that’s the case, juniors can now take on other tasks – more than they used to. Bismillah! The end of the junior developer as we once knew them.
Goodbye, everybody, I’ve got to go
Which brings me to what may be a surprising conclusion: AI could actually bridge the gap between junior and senior developers. We won’t have junior and senior developers any longer; we’ll only have superior developers, more powerful than ever now that they are supported by AI.
Any way the wind blows, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Easy come, easy go,
Johan
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