For years and years, we joked about robots taking our jobs one day. “It’s coming,” some warned. Fast-forward to a few years ago when AI exploded seemingly overnight. “It’s here,” those same people said.
Enter budget cuts, mass lay-offs, and software developers the world over echoing a similar sentiment: “What now?”
Here’s the good news: Brands are finding that swapping humans for AI might’ve been premature. Here’s the tricky part: Software developers still must choose to evolve or drown.
How to Make Yourself Invaluable as a Software Developer
Some of us have learned, perhaps the hard way, that while AI is incredible and will only get better, there are some things that will simply turn out better if a human being manages them.
However, we’d also be foolish to deny that things have changed tremendously.
I work with developers every single day, and I wanted to better understand what this evolution has meant for them. What can software engineers do to make themselves irreplaceable in the age of AI?
1.Solve a Problem
We’ve seen that AI is sometimes great for taking over monotonous, manual tasks — for instance, sifting through or generating code.
But you, the software developer, still have an upper hand: You see the bigger picture. The end goal in mind. The target you’re aiming for. This is a skill unique to you.
If you’re not sure if your work is solving a problem, take a step back, look at what you’re doing, and ask yourself, “So what?” If you can’t come up with a clear answer, there’s more work to be done.
2.Make Way for Strategy
Alright, you’re using AI, in some capacity, to solve a problem. You’ve found ways to leverage the technology to save you time. Now, you’re going to use that newly freed up time for… what, exactly?
We’ve established that AI might be sufficient for repetitive tasks we used to do, so your employer might not need you to do that stuff anymore. What do they need you for, then?
Strategy — one of those fluffy, corporate-y buzzwords we love to throw around without assigning any real meaning to it. So, let’s assign meaning!
3.Humanize Your Work
There’s a little thing called AI fatigue that is creeping in. AI fatigue is exactly what it sounds like: Some folks are becoming tired and suspicious of the technology.
There’s something so impersonal, so hollow about a piece of content that was created by AI. There’s no life behind it. No energy. To make matters worse, sometimes, it’s painfully obvious that the brains behind a piece of work was artificial intelligence.
4.Get Specific About What You Do for a Living
It used to be enough to say, “I work in tech.” Then, that became too broad, so we opted for, “I work in Developer Relations” (or something like that). Now, even that isn’t specific enough. For software developers to stay relevant and in demand, they need to be more clear on their position and the value they bring to their organization — or an organization they’re applying to.
An Opportunity to Be Better
“What I love about technology is that it’s boring and stable,” said no software developer ever.
I’d like to think that one thing that draws us to this industry is that it’s ever-evolving. This can feel like a double-edged sword sometimes because change can be hard and scary.
However, change also gives us an opportunity to be better than we were before, and that’s how I believe we should approach AI and how it’s changing the landscape of our careers. Solve a problem, prioritize strategy, humanize your work, and be specific with your role, and you and AI can work together as friends.
The original content of the note was published on Towardsdatascience.com. To read the full note visit here
