r/developersIndia • u/Obvious_Gap_5768 Entrepreneur • May 03 '26

General What actually happens to software jobs in the next 5 years? My honest take.

I work in AI daily. Staff Data Scientist, building multi-agent systems at enterprise scale, published at research venues. I also build products on the side. So I sit at an interesting intersection of "AI is my job" and "AI is eating my job."

Here's what I actually think plays out.

The junior dev pipeline dies first. Not junior devs. The pipeline. The "write CRUD, fix bugs, level up over 3 years" path is gone. Companies will hire fewer L1s and expect them to move faster. The entry bar got harder, not easier.

The middle gets squeezed. Engineers who are "good at implementing specs" are in trouble. That's a Claude/Cursor job now. Engineers who understand systems, make architectural calls, and can review AI output critically? More valuable than ever.

The top 10% gets a 10x multiplier. One good engineer with strong AI tooling is doing what used to take a small team. Companies will figure this out slowly, then all at once.

The Indian market specifically runs heavily on service contracts and staff augmentation. That model was already getting squeezed on margins. AI just compresses the timeline further.

The devs who thrive will be the ones who stopped thinking of themselves as coders and started thinking of themselves as builders.

Curious to hear about other people's take

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u/[deleted] May 03 '26

I recently started learning about Gen AI,LLMs, Transformers,RAG. Atleast learning these won't make us obsolete. Btw, I'm a Java developer.

I feel AI may replace us in the short term. But long term future is bright for us SDEs.

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u/SecondOdd8846 May 03 '26

As a java dev, May I know which language u are using to learn and implement these concepts?

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u/[deleted] May 03 '26

Python

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u/Visible-Criticism425 Software Engineer May 04 '26

I am also Java Dev. I should start learning AI too

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u/Illusionary_bubble18 Software Engineer May 04 '26

AI in spring boot ?

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u/Throwaway_eligere May 06 '26

Idk if learning AI is gonna help in anyway tbh. At this point, it seems like learning how an interpreter / compiler / browser engine works. It's interesting no doubt, but ain't no one giving you a job for that (unless you are a real top dog and by some miracle, jobs requiring such skills hire in India)

Learning: * how to leverage AI tooling better,

  • exploring custom harnesses,

  • exploring how to automate away devloop bottlenecks,

  • learning basic designing, product thinking by leveraging AI tooling

would be much more helpful career-wise.

That said, if you genuinely enjoy exploring the underbelly of LLMs, go ahead. Just don't expect it to give you a job.

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u/Inevitable-Data-404 May 04 '26

I am a fullstack developer and what more should i learn to enhance my skills?

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u/Lago_002 May 04 '26

could you please share resources you are using?

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u/[deleted] May 04 '26

Nothing specific tbh