Is Coding Still Worth Learning in 2024?

Summary

This video script addresses the concern of AI replacing software engineers and the value of learning to code in 2024. The speaker, a coding course creator, argues that AI will not eliminate jobs but will transform the role, allowing engineers to focus on complex problem-solving and innovation. Citing Bureau of Labor Statistics, the script highlights a projected 26% growth for software developers by 2031. It emphasizes the importance of human oversight in refining AI-generated code for quality and security, suggesting that coding skills remain essential. The video concludes by encouraging those interested in coding not to be deterred by fear, but to embrace the evolving landscape of software engineering.

Takeaways

• 🚀 Starting a career in programming at 30 is still considered wise, despite fears about AI replacing jobs.
• 🤖 AI is not expected to take away jobs; instead, those who know how to work with AI will have an advantage.
• 📊 The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 26% growth for software developers from 2022 to 2031, outpacing the average job growth.
• 🛠 The history of programming shows that tools like compilers improved efficiency without replacing programmers.
• 🔧 AI will likely handle routine tasks, allowing developers to focus on complex problem-solving and innovation.
• 📈 AI-generated code quality is lower and requires human review and refinement for production use.
• 🔍 A study found that code churn is projected to double in 2024, emphasizing the need for human oversight in coding.
• 🛑 Knowledge of data structures, algorithms, programming languages, and tools remains crucial for reviewing AI-generated code.
• 💼 Software engineering encompasses more than coding; it includes communication, understanding requirements, and software architecture.
• 📈 A study by McKenzie found less than a 10% improvement in speed for highly complex tasks, indicating AI's limitations.
• 🌐 The role of software engineers may become more valuable as they will manage and maintain AI systems, requiring a deep understanding of software development.

Q & A

Is it wise to start a career as a programmer at the age of 30 in 2024?

Yes, it is wise according to the script. Despite fears of AI replacing software engineers, the demand for software engineers is expected to grow, making it a viable career choice.

What is the projected employment growth for software developers according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from 2022 to 2031?

The BLS projects a 26% growth in employment for software developers, which is significantly higher than the average growth rate of 3% across all occupations.

How did the introduction of compilers impact the role of programmers in the past?

Compilers made programmers more efficient by handling the conversion of code to machine language and memory allocation, without replacing them. This advancement led to the creation of complex software and applications.

What is the role of AI in the future of software engineering as suggested by the script?

AI is expected to handle routine and repetitive coding tasks, allowing software engineers to focus on complex problem-solving, design, and innovation.

What are the implications of AI-generated code quality for software engineers?

AI-generated code tends to have lower quality and requires human review and refinement for quality and security before being deployed in production.

What does the study on code churn predict for 2024?

The study predicts that code churn, the percentage of lines that are reverted or updated within two weeks of being authored, is projected to double in 2024.

Why is it still necessary for software engineers to learn coding despite the advancements in AI?

Software engineers need to understand and review AI-generated code, refine it, and guide the AI to improve. Coding skills are essential for these tasks and will remain relevant.

How does the script refute the idea that software engineers can build software using natural language without understanding coding?

The script argues that while natural language can be used for simple applications, complex software that runs critical systems like banks and airlines requires a deep understanding of coding.

What is the role of AI in improving the productivity of software engineers according to a study by McKenzie?

The McKenzie study found that AI helps most with documentation and code generation, with improvements dropping to 20% for refactoring and less than 10% for highly complex tasks.

What is the potential impact of AI on the job opportunities for junior software engineers?

The script suggests that the time savings from AI are not as significant as promised, and the effort required to get usable AI-generated code means that one senior engineer using AI is unlikely to replace many engineers.

How does the script envision the future role of software engineers in relation to AI?

The script envisions software engineers as being more valuable, developing, managing, and maintaining AI systems, and using AI to boost their productivity while still requiring deep knowledge of software development.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 The Future of Software Engineering Amidst AI Concerns

This paragraph addresses concerns about AI replacing software engineers and the value of learning to code in 2024. The speaker, a coding course creator, assures viewers that despite fears, software engineering is not going away and is expected to grow by 26% from 2022 to 2031, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The speaker emphasizes that AI will not take jobs but rather those who can work with AI will thrive. The history of programming is briefly discussed, from manual memory address calculations to the advent of compilers, which increased efficiency without replacing programmers. The paragraph concludes by suggesting that AI will allow for more focus on complex problem-solving and innovation, rather than routine tasks.

05:02

🛠 The Role of Software Engineers in an AI-Enhanced Future

The second paragraph delves into the practical implications of AI on software engineering. It refutes the idea that AI will diminish the need for coding skills, arguing that while AI can assist with code generation, the quality of AI-generated code is lower and requires human review. The speaker cites a study predicting a doubling of code churn in 2024, emphasizing the ongoing relevance of coding skills. The paragraph also discusses the broader responsibilities of a software engineer, which include communication and understanding requirements, areas where AI cannot replace human interaction. Studies are mentioned to highlight the limited productivity gains AI provides in complex tasks, suggesting that the role of software engineers may become more valuable as they manage AI systems. The paragraph concludes by encouraging those interested in software engineering not to be deterred by misconceptions and to embrace the evolving skillset required for future software development.

Keywords

💡Software Engineering

Software engineering is the application of engineering principles to software development. In the video, it is emphasized that software engineering is not going away but will transform with AI. It involves understanding requirements, designing software, coding, testing, and maintenance.

💡AI (Artificial Intelligence)

AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. The video discusses the impact of AI on software engineering, suggesting that AI will not replace software engineers but will change how they work by automating routine tasks.

💡Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)

The BLS is a government agency that collects and analyzes labor economic data in the United States. The video cites BLS data predicting a 26% growth in software developer employment from 2022 to 2031, highlighting the continued demand for software engineers.

💡Compilers

Compilers are programs that translate code written in a high-level programming language into machine code that a computer's processor can execute. The video explains that compilers made programmers more efficient, similar to how AI will assist rather than replace them.

💡Code Quality

Code quality refers to how well code is written and maintained. The video mentions that AI-generated code often has lower quality and requires human review and refinement, emphasizing the continued relevance of software engineers in ensuring high-quality code.

💡Cod Churn

Code churn is the percentage of lines of code that are changed or reverted shortly after being written. The video predicts an increase in code churn due to AI, stressing the importance of human oversight in maintaining code quality.

💡Natural Language Programming

Natural language programming involves using human languages to interact with software systems. The video argues that while AI can help with some coding tasks, understanding coding principles and languages remains essential for creating complex software.

💡Human-AI Collaboration

Human-AI collaboration refers to humans working alongside AI to enhance productivity and innovation. The video emphasizes that future software engineers will need to collaborate with AI, using it to automate routine tasks while focusing on more complex problems.

💡Job Security

Job security is the assurance that an individual will keep their job without the risk of becoming unemployed. The video reassures viewers that software engineering remains a secure career choice despite fears of AI replacing jobs, citing data and expert opinions.

💡Programming Skills

Programming skills are the abilities required to write and maintain code effectively. The video highlights that fundamental programming skills, such as understanding data structures, algorithms, and programming languages, will continue to be essential even as AI becomes more integrated into software development.

Highlights

Despite fears of AI replacing programmers, the demand for software engineers is expected to grow by 26% from 2022 to 2031, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Software engineering is predicted to transform rather than disappear, with AI aiding rather than replacing human programmers.

AI is not going to take programmers' jobs; instead, those who know how to work with AI will have an advantage.

Compilers improved programmer efficiency without replacing them, and AI is expected to have a similar impact.

AI will likely delegate routine coding tasks, allowing programmers to focus on complex problem-solving, design, and innovation.

AI-generated code requires human review and refinement for quality and security before production deployment.

A study analyzing 153 million lines of code found that code churn is projected to double in 2024, emphasizing the need for human oversight in AI-generated code.

Software engineers will continue to need knowledge of data structures, algorithms, programming languages, and tools to review AI-generated code.

Coding is only one part of a software engineer's job, with much time spent on communication and understanding requirements, which AI cannot replace.

A study by McKenzie found that for highly complex tasks, developers saw less than a 10% improvement in speed with AI assistance.

The role of software engineers may become more valuable as they will be needed to develop, manage, and maintain AI systems.

The fear that AI could replace many engineers, leaving no job opportunities for juniors, is unfounded as AI requires human input and refinement.

AI is advancing, but the gap between theory and practice means that human creativity and expertise remain essential for complex solutions.

Software engineering is expected to be extremely important over the next several decades, with changes requiring adaptability and learning.

The future software engineer will need today's coding skills and an understanding of how to use AI effectively.

The output of AI is only as good as the instructions given, requiring programmers to work with AI tools effectively.

Web developers today need to know a wide range of technologies, and this complexity is expected to increase in the future.

The video encourages those interested in coding not to be held back by negativity and fear, as software powers our world and will continue to do so.

Transcripts

I got this question on this channel hey

msh I'm 30 and I was planning to start a

career as a programmer do you think this

is wise comment question a lot of people

are worried that AI is going to replace

software Engineers so is coding still

worth learning in 2024 well depends who

you ask if you ask certain folks the

ones who always seem miserable and say

everything is going to collapse they

will say no coding has no future but

I've got a different take backed up by

real world numbers in this video I'm

sharing data that shows the continued

demand for software Engineers so to

understand where we are now and what the

future will look like for software

engineers make sure to watch this video

to the end first I want to be

transparent I've been creating coding

courses for the past 10 years and in

that time I've been lucky enough to

teach millions of people how to code and

launch their careers in Tech so yes you

could say I have a vested interest in

this field but I want to assure you that

this isn't a sales pitch it's about

helping you make make an informed

decision I want you to hear both side of

the story and decide for yourself what

you believe at the end of the day it's

your decision whether you want to learn

coding or not and even if you want to

you don't even have to buy my courses or

learn from me there are thousands of

great options out there so yeah there is

a lot of fear about AI replacing coders

headlines scream about robots taking

over jobs and it can be overwhelming but

the truth is AI is not going to take

your job instead it's the person who

knows how to work with AI that will

steal your job the reality is software

engineering is not going away at least

not anytime soon don't just take my word

for it here's some data to back it up

the United States Bureau of Labor

Statistics often called the BLS is a

government agency that tracks job growth

across the country on their website you

can see that the employment for software

developers is expected to grow by 26%

from 2022 to 2031 the average across all

occupations is 3% so that's a strong

indication that software engineering is

here to stay but it'll most likely

transform and that's what we will

explore in this

[Music]

video to better understand the impact of

AI on software engineering let's take a

minute and talk about the history of

programming in the early days of

computing programmers wrote code in a

way that only computers understood long

strings of zeros and ones it was

incredibly tedious they had to keep

track of of exactly where each piece of

data and code was stored in the

computer's memory and to do that they

had to manually calculate memory

addresses and make sure that different

parts of the program didn't override

each other compilers came to solve this

problem with a compiler we can program

in a human readable language like C++

without worrying about how that code

should eventually get converted to zeros

and ones and where it will get stored in

the memory that's the job of a compiler

now here here's a fact compilers didn't

replace programmers they made them more

efficient and the result of that the

amazing websites and apps we have today

that no one could even imagine in the

past these days billions of people can

communicate in real time AI will likely

do the same in the future we'll be able

to delegate routine and repetitive

coding tasks to AI so we can focus on

complex problem solving design and

Innovation this will allow us to build

more sophisticated software that most

people can't even imagine today but even

then just because AI can generate code

doesn't mean we can or we should

delegate the entire coding aspect of

software development to AI because AI

generated code has a lower quality and

humans still need to review and refine

it before using it in production in fact

there's a study to support this they

collected 153 million change lines of

code between January 2020 and December

2023 and they found disconcerting trends

for maintenance ability and listen to

their prediction for 2024 Cod churn

which means the percentage of lines that

are reverted or updated less than 2

weeks after being authored is projected

to double in 2024 so yes we can produce

more code in less time with AI but more

doesn't equal better humans should

always review and refine AI generated

code for quality and security before

deploying it to production and that

means all the coding skills as software

engineer currently has will continue to

stay relevant in the future you will

still need the knowledge of data

structures algorithms programming

languages and their tricky parts tools

and Frameworks you still need to have

all that knowledge to be able to review

and refine the AI generated code you'll

just spend less time typing it so anyone

telling you that you can use natural

language to build software without

understanding anything about coding is

out of touch with the reality of

software engineering sure you can make a

dummy app but not the kind of software

that runs our banks Airlines Healthcare

the kind of software our life depends on

we can't let a Code Monkey talk to a

chat bot in plain English and get that

software built at least not anytime soon

in the future we'll probably spend more

time designing new features and products

with AI instead of writing boilerplate

code we'll likely delegate aspects of

coding to AI but this doesn't mean we

don't need to learn to code think of it

like a skilled architect using blue

prints the architect doesn't need to

handra the whole blueprint themselves

but they still need to understand those

blueprints in detail make sure

everything works as designed and give

clear instructions for those building

the final structure as a software

engineer you will always need to

understand the code review what AI

generates and refine it either by hand

or by guiding the AI to improve also

keep in mind that coding is only one

part of a software engineer's job we

often spend most of our time talking to

people understanding requirements

writing stories discussing software

architecture and so on AI cannot help

with that aspect of our work it can only

boost our programming productivity but

not necessarily the overall productivity

in fact another study by McKenzie found

that for highly complex tasks developers

saw less than a 10% Improvement in their

speed so as we can see here AI helped

the most with documentation and code

generation to some extent but moving on

to refactoring the the Improvement

dropped to 20% and for highly complex

tasks it was less than 10% and this

happens when the coding task involves

something the developer isn't already

familiar with so if anyone tells you

that software Engineers will be obsolete

in 5 years they're either ignorant or

trying to sell you something in fact

some argue that the role of software

Engineers may become more valuable as

they will be needed to develop manage

and maintain these AI systems they need

to understand all the complex of

building software and use AI to boost

their productivity now some are worried

that one senior engineer can simply use

Ai and replace many Engineers

essentially leaving no job opportunities

for juniors but again that's a fallacy

because in reality the time savings you

get from AI is not as great as you are

promised anyone who has used AI to

generate code knows that it takes effort

to get the right prompts for usable

results and the Cod still needs

polishing so it's not like like one

engineer will suddenly have so much free

time to do the job of many people now

you might say but MOS that's the current

state of AI look AI is rapidly advancing

and in a year or two it will be able to

build software just like a human well in

theory yes AI is advancing and one day

it may even reach and surpass human

intelligence but in theory theory and

practice are the same in practice

they're not the reality is while

machines may be able to handle

repetitive and routine tasks human

creativity and expertise will still be

necessary for developing complex

Solutions and strategies I strongly

believe software engineering is going to

be extremely important over the next

several decades I don't think it's going

away but I do think it's going to change

in the future we'll have to learn how to

input the right prompt into our AI tools

to get the expected result it's not an

easy skill to develop it requires

problem solving capability as well as

knowledge of languages and tools so

here's the bottom line if you have

already made up your mind and don't want

to invest your time in software

engineering that's perfectly fine Follow

Your Passion but if you like building

things with code if the idea of shaping

the future with technology gets you

excited don't let negativity and fear

hold your back software Powers our world

and that won't change anytime soon yes

the tools will evolve but the true skill

lies in learning and adapting the future

software engineer needs today's coding

skills and an understanding of how to

use AI effectively the output of AI is

only as good as the instructions you

give it think about it programmers must

work directly with zeros and once

today's web developers need to know HTML

CSS Tailwind JavaScript typescript react

nextjs git automated testing and so much

more my prediction is that the future

brings even more complexity demanding

more knowledge and adaptability from

software Engineers if you found this

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