Hey ! Did you see this?
Runable’s CEO shared on X that out of ~1,000 backend job applicants, fewer than five submitted even compiling code. His exact words:
“India seriously has a big f***ing talent problem… Is it too much to ask for code that actually compiles?”
Why This Matters
AI ≠ Output
Many candidates rely on AI-generated code—but most of it didn’t work out-of-the-box. Devs: always test and understand what you paste.Skills > Degrees
Real-world coding trumps fancy degrees. Portfolios, GitHub, open-source—these will now matter more than ever.Cultural & Ethical Shift
Should we mention AI help during hiring? Where do we draw the line between assistance and automation?-
Call to Action
- Engineering colleges, step up—partner with startups for practical training.
- Candidates, level up—build, ship, review. CI/CD, clean code, tests matter.
- Recruiters, try live coding paired with AI-savvy interviews.
👇 What Devs Should Do Today
- ✅ Build & document your own projects (Docker, CI/CD, test suites).
- ✅ Run code out loud in interviews—explain logic, debug errors.
- ✅ Learn AI responsibly—use Copilot/GPT, but grasp every line.
- ✅ Contribute to open source—collaborative dev shows code quality.
Final Thoughts
This isn’t just a startup’s rant—it’s a wake-up call. India has massive tech ambition, but skills need catching up.
For the Dev.to community: let’s lead the change—teach well, code better, support each other.
What do you think?
- Is this valid criticism or just harsh fear-mongering?
- How are you preparing to stand out in the AI era?
- Recruiters: what would you change about hiring today?
Let’s discuss—and build the future together! Write your opinion about the tweet
Top comments (2)
Ngl, although I just started, the idea of simply pasting code from some ai didnt work out well for me. at first, i tried it with python and the mistakes... damn, i just had to really learn the code myself and fix its errors.
But this is a valid criticism, to be true
Exactly..... AI gives you a starting point, but you still need to understand and debug the code yourself - there's no replacement for actually learning it.