Subj : Why AI wont eliminate software engineering jobs To : All From : TechnologyDaily Date : Thu Apr 17 2025 15:15:09 Why AI wont eliminate software engineering jobs Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2025 14:12:08 +0000 Description: Next-generation AI creates value in tech careers rather than eliminating development positions. FULL STORY ====================================================================== The past 12 months have seen remarkable advances in AI coding capabilities. To offer some perspective, theres a benchmark that measures performance on 500 real-world engineering problems derived from real world software projects. Early last year, state-of-the-art large language models (LLMs) solved only about 4% of these issues. With this momentum in AI coding agents now drawing significant media attention, Im asked more frequently: Will this affect software engineering jobs? The tipping point in writing this article was a conversation with a prospective investor who wondered whether his child should continue pursuing an interest in computer science. In true engineering style, Ill begin with a succinct TL;DR (too long; didnt read) summary and then elaborate in detail below: TL;DR - Indeed says engineering jobs are 70% down. This is misleading. - AI will never fix a bug for me. Time to wake up. - AI will change software jobs. Absolutely. - AI will dramatically reduce the number of software jobs in the near future. Almost certainly not. - Is it still worth learning computer science? More than ever. If Ive still got your attention, lets dive in. Misreading the Indeed data Its true that software development postings on Indeed have dropped below their pre-pandemic baseline by 29%, and many people are blaming AI. However, heres an inside secret for anyone outside the recruiting and software engineering circles: hiring for highly paid professionals (and many software developers fall into that category) is simply moving away from Indeed. Ive hired hundreds of engineers over the course of my career, and I cant recall the last time I posted a software engineering job on Indeed. Its been years. For context, consider that Education & Instruction job postings are up 46.8% on Indeed over the same period. Do we attribute that to AI magically creating 50% more demand for educators? Hardly. Until we see data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics or another official source, Im inclined to classify any direct correlation between Indeeds dip in engineering listings and AI as a spurious correlation. The tech sector experienced a massive spike during the pandemic, followed by a significant correction that resulted in layoffs and hiring freezes. That had little to do with AI; if anything, AI might be reinvigorating the tech market by attracting new capital and creating specialized jobs. The evolving landscape of AI coding tools On the flip side, some individuals remain stuck in a world where coding assistant equals GitHub Copilot circa 2022. Theyve grown disenchanted with the market, and I cant blame them. From overly optimistic claims of 25% productivity boosts to confusing benchmarks focused on programming Olympiad tasks, AI capabilities can be both overhyped and misunderstood. AI is nuanced; it can perform astonishingly well on one task while failing spectacularly on a similar one. Keep in mind that Olympiad programming tasks are not reflective of day-to-day software engineering. Thats akin to comparing a Certified Public Accountants responsibilities with the role of a companys founding entrepreneurtheyre wholly different. So the next time you hear that a model beat a human champion in a programming competition, dont assume you can hand it your Instagram-killer app and watch it code effortlessly. That said, were also not in Kansas anymore. Its no longer 2022, and GitHub Copilot isnt the leading edge of coding assistance. Let me use a simile: have you tried doing legal research with the original ChatGPT? Now compare that experience to using the latest ChatGPT Professional. I have, and my personal conclusionnot legal advice, your mileage may varyis that while I wouldnt have used the original model for serious legal research, the newer version impressed me enough to recommend it to my attorney. The same progression applies to coding assistants. Theyre evolving from neat-but-limited tools into powerful agents that can shoulder simple tasks while you stay in the drivers seat. And as rapid as the last 12 months of progress have been, the next 12 promise to be even more transformative. There are still multiple levers in AI software agents that the industry has yet to pullso stay tuned. Unlocking value for businesses and developers This brings me to how AI coding agents can unlock tremendous value for both software engineers and their companies. Recent breakthroughs in agentic AI are driving a generational shift in coding assistance. These tools now tap into a much deeper contextual awareness, scanning entire codebases to suggest, test, and fix solutions aligned with bigger project goals. For businesses, this translates to delivering sophisticated applications more quickly, adapting to market shifts in real-time, and expanding the boundaries of whats possible. For developers, AI coding assistants eliminate the drudgery of repetitive, time-consuming tasks, freeing them to focus on creativity, innovation, and strategic problem-solving. Will this reduce the number of software jobs? So, if AI handles more routine work, does that mean well need fewer engineers? I dont think so. Over my career, Ive seen more than a tenfold jump in engineering productivity, thanks to modern programming languages, open-source libraries, and cloud infrastructure. And thats on top of another tenfold improvement before I even entered the field. Innovation is the hallmark of technology jobs. The more powerful our tools become, the more room there is for creativity and value creation. That value translates into greater demand in the job market, not less. Our collective drive toward progress is our best job security. The future of Computer Science education Finally, lets talk about learning computer science. The programming languages, libraries, and tools I use today are entirely different from those I studied in school. Yet that education remains the bedrock of my career. The next generation of computer scientists will be more resourceful, more collaborative, and more powerful than ever before. Universities will adapt their curricula to meet industry needs, and hands-on experienceslike internships and open-source capstone projectswill help students build real-world skills that position them for success. AI will enhance their capabilities, not render them obsolete. Conclusion AI coding agents are evolving at breakneck speed, but theyre far from making software engineers obsolete. Instead, they promise to enhance developer productivity and creativity, leading to new opportunities for innovation. And for anyone wondering whether to invest time and effort in a computer science education: there has never been a better moment to do so. We've featured the best monitors for programming. This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. 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