A Different Game

Lately, everyone seems to have a strong opinion—usually bordering on excessive drama—about the impact of artificial intelligence on the software development job market. As a good Spaniard, I can’t resist placing my own bet in a good office pool, so a couple of weeks ago I gave the matter some thought and drafted an article with my personal prediction.

My view is that AI will continue to be a transformative tool, causing certain positions to disappear while creating new ones. We’ll see role redefinitions, with developers taking on more transversal responsibilities and moving more freely across different technology stacks.

Experienced developers will be the biggest winners, with exponential increases in both their productivity and their sphere of influence. Demand for these profiles will soar, leading to significantly better salaries and working conditions. On the other hand, the ones who will fare the worst—already feeling the effects—are junior developers and highly specialized mid-level engineers. Hiring for these roles will likely freeze for several years.

I wouldn’t be surprised if roles like that of the product manager are impacted, with engineers who are strongly product-oriented taking over stakeholder communication, requirements gathering, and planning—supported by AI tools. The team-focused culture of the past decade might give way to a more individualistic one, centered on the figure of the MVP.

If this scenario plays out over the next 3 to 5 years, we could see a major talent gap emerge as junior hiring slows. Without new talent entering the market, gaining experience becomes impossible just as the demand for senior developers grows. This could trigger a new boom in bootcamps, followed by a cycle of overhiring, bubble, crash, and eventual stabilization.

What’s coming is not the end of software development—just the start of a very different game.

exit(0);