Is it worth continuing to study?

Posted by Dull-Dimension-9922@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 17 comments

Hi, I'm a student in a programming technical program, and my major leans towards web development, an area I personally enjoy. However, lately I've been seeing AI replacing this field, and I'm not talking about simple tools, I'm talking about a complete replacement.

Furthermore, as if that weren't enough, companies clearly favor engineers over technicians. It's worth noting that I'm a junior engineer, and I'm seeing more and more job postings that demand a thousand requirements for minimum wage.

Honestly, I'm fascinated by the idea of being a freelancer, but the idea that for a $40 subscription an AI can do the same thing I do terrifies me.

What do you think?

What would you advise?

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alphadester@reddit

honestly the AI fear is overblown imo, at least for now

AI is great at generating boilerplate and simple CRUD stuff but it still messes up complex logic, doesnt understand ur specific codebase, and needs a dev to guide it. the $40 chatgpt sub wont replace someone who can actually understand requirements, debug weird edge cases, and make architectural decisions

the freelancers getting replaced are the ones doing pure copy paste work anyway. if u build actual skills u become the person who knows how to USE the ai tools effectively which is a huge advantage

also web dev isnt going anywhere, demand is still massive. just dont be the dev who only knows how to follow tutorials 😅

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Dubiisek@reddit

I wish mods would make a megathread for this and blacklist these threads lol, this is like third thread today alone about this shit.

If you are worried about being replaced by AI and can't make a basic research about the topic my advice is that you should stop studying CS/IT and go do something else because you clearly don't have the mindset that is needed to not be replaced.

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Dull-Dimension-9922@reddit (OP)

Sorry, this is my first time using Reddit. Those of us starting out in this field are hit head-on with this whole AI circus and the paranoia that it will replace us. We need an experienced programmer or someone with a clear understanding of the subject to tell us, "No, that's not how it is" or "Yes, this career has no future, soon we'll all be replaced." I'm sorry if that bothers you a lot, but this nervousness is normal.

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Dubiisek@reddit

I don't think you understand what I am trying to say.

I am not blaming you for being worried or paranoid, that is normal yes. I am directly arguing that your mindset and approach is bad/wrong.

If you want to work in any field in IT, you MUST BE capable of conducting research on your own on any given topic. Don't understand part of syntax? look it up, don't know wtf X even means? look it up, company is starting new project and the team you are in is going to be using tech-stack you don't understand? look it up, got a personal project and don't know suitable tech-stack for it? look it up...

You must be able to look up and process information. Even as a Junior (or lower), your first resort should almost never be to ask your seniors questions or ask them to explain things to you, you do your own research, you look into things, you map the topic/concepts out, afterwards if there are things you deem crucial you ask your seniors pointed/clarifying questions.

It didn't even have to be on reddit, you could just google, if I ignore geopolitics, this shit is currently the most talked about topic out there, you can read articles, you can find substacks of seasoned developers... Speaking of AI, if you want to take things further, as long as you are capable of cross-verifying information on basic level you can literally prompt GPT/Claude to find a wide array of those resources for you, if LLMs are replacing anything, they are replacing the need to google...

Basically, to stop yapping, my point is that if you want to make it in this industry, your first step should be to shift your mentality from wanting to ask other people when you don't understand something/lack information into finding the answers/information yourself. In the information age we live in, this shift will automatically put you way above average in anything you chose to do.

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EfficientMongoose317@reddit

Yeah, it’s still 100% worth continuing. What’s changing isn’t the need for developers, it’s the level of expectation

AI can generate code, but it doesn’t understand requirements deeply, handle messy real-world edge cases, or take ownership of systems

The people who struggle are the ones who only know surface-level stuff. The ones who understand fundamentals, architecture, and how things actually work will be even more valuable

Also, freelancing isn’t just “writing code”, it’s understanding clients, making decisions, maintaining systems, communicating clearly. AI doesn’t replace that

Instead of thinking “AI will replace me”
think “how do I become someone who uses AI better than others?”

You’re not being replaced, the bar is just shifting

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Dull-Dimension-9922@reddit (OP)

Thank you, I appreciate your words and you're right, thank you for taking the time to write that. ❤️

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HastyMainframe@reddit

The AI thing is way overblown - most of these tools still need someone who actually knows what they're doing to tell them what to build and fix their inevitable mess-ups.

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PalpitationOk839@reddit

You’re not wrong about the pressure the market is tougher right now. But AI isn’t replacing good developers, it’s raising the bar. Basic CRUD work is easier now, so companies expect more thinking, design, and problem-solving. If you enjoy web dev, stick with it just go deeper (backend, systems, real projects). That’s what keeps you valuable.

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Dull-Dimension-9922@reddit (OP)

I think that was the most comforting thing anyone said in the comments, thank you for your time. I needed to read that. 🤍

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HasFiveVowels@reddit

No, it is absolutely not worth it. You’re asking a community that is largely composed of people whose livelihood depends on it being worth it. Consider the selection bias there. No, it’s not worth it. Look at the programming job market and ask yourself honestly: "Is this situation going to get better in the coming years?"

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JustinTheCheetah@reddit

We really need a pinned thread at the top of this subreddit for this. It gets asked every day here.

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Dubiisek@reddit

Every day? Bro, I just did a search in this sub-reddit, there are 7 of them TODAY ALONE.

Kill me.

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chocolate_asshole@reddit

finish the program, learn fundamentals, then specialize around ai tools. job hunt still sucks for everyone right now