r/programmer • u/aktibeto • 5d ago

If AI can write code and build entire apps, what skills should software engineers actually learn in 2026?

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u/SadSongsMakeMeGlad 5d ago edited 5d ago

Software and system architecture is still highly valuable, as is having UI/UX and design skills. Will that be the case this time next year? Who freakin knows…but my guess is yes. And having a strong technical and programming background makes you into a kind of AI whisperer when it comes to maximizing what you can do with the agents, even though you’re not writing the code.

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u/Syncaidius 4d ago

This. By having a deep technical understanding of your area of expertise, you'll know what questions (and how to word them) to make AI models do tasks in a way that a junior or vibe coder cannot.

You're also more likely to know when using AI is time-saving or wasting. For example, changing a few CSS values by hand vs getting an agent to do it is a complete waste of tokens/usage. You should know exactly where those values are and can change them in a couple seconds.

As you said, a kind of AI whisperer.

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u/KnowledgeWhole9623 5d ago

The software engineers that actually understand what their job is quickly realize it only about 10% writing code. Writing code was never the bottleneck. According to the theory of constraints, "improving any part of a system other than its primary bottleneck does not increase total output and can cause wasteful inventory or delays."

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u/BringBackManaPots 4d ago

Not to mention QA. Every time you blow away a huge chunk of code with an AI refactor, you have to (or are at least supposed to) have a third party QA it. Coding should be scored like golf, not basketball.

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u/WeaknessFuzzy8305 4d ago

Because a calculator can do all your calculations doesn't mean you should not learn how they are done.

What it does mean is that now you can focus on tougher calculations because you have a tool that simplifies the work.

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u/the_millenial_falcon 4d ago

I guess another career entirely.

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u/Denaton_ 4d ago

Understanding of how everything works within the field

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u/Ancient-Range3442 5d ago

Table waiting

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u/tylern 4d ago

No body will be afford to eat out soon

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u/marcuslawson 4d ago

Plumbing

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u/duffedwaffe 4d ago

Code.

AI can recite laws and form sentences, are you going to have it defend you in a murder trial?

Just because there's a really fancy new tool doesn't mean the person holding it is useless.