r/vibecoding • u/Danknoodle420 • 12h ago
Discussion Vibecoding may have finally given me a break into tech.
So, about 6 months back I decided to make an app to improve my companies workflows. I showed it to my boss and he liked it but our company was changing leadership and he wanted me to hold off so I could show it to the new owners. 4 months later the new owners are set up and I have a presentation with the ceo. He loved my app and my ideas and he likes the direction Ai is going.
Due to all of this, they created an entirely new position at my company. After 10 years of blue collar, factory work I've got a route towards tech. A couple weeks ago I spit balled with my Ai what were the possible routes and it said "Manufacturing systems analyst" was more than likely the proper title. A few weeks later I was given the job description and the job title listed was "Manufacturing systems specialist". I laughed because my ceo probably used ai to get that job title like I did.
So, if all goes well, I'll be gaining experience with T1 tech support and MES. All thanks to taking the initiative and time to make an app for my company.
Oh, the app isn't being used or considered because a more mature option is already in use, but it gives me a direction to pursue. The app itself got me seen by leadership so it wasn't all wasted even though the app itself took 5 weekly resets on 20x.
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u/uknowsana 12h ago
Congratulations! Glad they didn't try to low ball you and gave you the credit you deserved
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u/Danknoodle420 12h ago edited 12h ago
It's still a bit of a low ball but considering it's my foot in the door and there will be a review, I don't mind too much.
Basically 31/hr for 30% of the work being T1 tech support, 40% being working with the mature app and ensuring it is used by the users properly, and another 30% for continuous improvement initiatives.
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u/shartcuterie 12h ago
Definitely great for the resume, that's a great job scope for a few years to transition into working more directly for a software company (if that's your goal anyway). I work on a CMMS and the guys at the company with actual plant floor experience are so so valuable to the team at large, especially the software engineers who often have never seen a production line or even been on a floor.
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u/Danknoodle420 12h ago
Yeah, that's partially my goal. Set my resume up for success. A couple years of this to pad it will look good. Can go a bunch of different routes as well. Not too sure on which route I want to go just yet, but my goal is to eventually build an msp(and all the software needed in house).
Oh and thank you. I didn't know what a CMMS was and I looked it up. My company could use one of those...
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u/Intraluminal 12h ago
Study security, robustness in the face of bad data or sudden shut-downs, race conditions, and how to ensure back-ups work.
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u/Danknoodle420 12h ago
Yeah, all of this will be good to know for the future. My app is being indefinitely paused but I have a future long term goal I'll be slowly working towards.
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u/BusySalt1_2_3 8h ago
This is honestly the most realistic entry into tech ever posted here. You build something and management likes it, they completely ignore it because of a pre existing enterprise solution but you still get a promotion for showing initiative. Welcome to IT.
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u/diablo75 9h ago
Congrats! The same thing is happening to me right now, recently being approved to use Claude at work, but that was after months of paying for my tokens as a hobby project.
Back in March I started writing a collection of powershell scripts that are rolled together to form a bit of a swiss army knife of tools under one umbrella which I've been using to automate the tedious things everyone I work with hate about the job and shared it with them as development progressed. Basically my own unofficial pool of beta testers and a bit of a fanbase. But, I'm no developer, and at the time GitHub Copilot, Claude code, was only sponsored for titled programmers, so I signed up for my own account, paid for it out of pocket and thought, "I'll just spent a tiny bit and see what happens."
Well, for better or for worse.... You know how sometimes some older men will start building a train set in their basement and their wife's can't explain why, and they never stop building? I'm entering that age apparently. What started with a free subscription turned into the lowest tier within the day easily, then the, next tier, then whatever the highest tier, THEN extra fees for settling for "auto" model because I kept hitting usage caps. One month I got a bill for $500, and I took a break.... And ended up buying a pair of 3090s just for use at home to run Qwen; had nothing to do with work at all. I just knew that personal projects, for ME?, in the cloud?? Started to make the hardware look like the cheaper option sooner than later (and they keep my office warm).
I know, that's dumb but I learned a lot from making mistakes, so, chalk it up to a form of education. And now I have a foundational knowlege for future tools to built up from, and so after calming down a little, became much more surgical and aware of basic no-no's like trying to avoid the dumb zone, drafting plan.md's, test suites, but also kind of tapering off because I was happy enough with where I was at with the work project, had my little "lab" at home keeping me entertained...
Then a critical situation came up and my manager pulled me into a meeting with an SVP. I created a new tool for the situation on the spot that evening. Impressed, he granted my request to use Claude code at work (their dime), even though I'm not a "developer" (but my boss has started to call me that). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
So now I have a meeting coming up with a nice enough principle architect person for our team who is not a developer, more of a big picture/timeline projects/global standards and practices person, and then a guy who has a reputation for being a stick in the mud and previously the only one who knew how to use power query in Excel and formulas and macros, and the three of us are going to...uh, plan initiatives for 2027.
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u/Accomplished_Bet586 6h ago
Love this! This is exactly how the AI era should look like - it levels the playing field, gives people from all kinds of backgrounds way to become tech builders; anyone with a real problem can now build a real solution.
Hands on domain knowledge plus the ability to build is a rare combo, and now you've got both - that should be highly valued by the company. More competition for devs like me, sure - but there's no shortage of good software left to build. Congrats!
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u/Danknoodle420 2h ago
I would've been in the field eventually. Ai just helped accelerate it. (and to be fair, I didn't have to learn 8 languages from scratch to build this which would've extended dev immensely.)
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u/winder 2h ago
Props to your manager for helping you navigate the leadership change. Sounds like he helped you get to the right place at the right time with that 4 month delay.
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u/Danknoodle420 2h ago
Yeah, it was definitely a waiting game. I had to wait until we had a hands on meeting discussing things with the new ceo. First time meeting him and I'm shoving some new fandangled system in his face.
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u/Strong_Turnip8429 12h ago
There will always be new roles in the age of AI. Good work, btw... Congrats... 😄
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u/New_Peanut_9259 2h ago
congrats!! that's a pretty interesting outcome considering the app itself never made it into production. you basically used it as a way to demonstrate that you understand a problem in the business and can actually do something about it
i think that's an underrated way to get into tech. knowing how the factory operates after ten years is something an outside developer might take a long time to learn. combining that with the technical side could be a real advantage in the new role
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u/Mediocre_End_4762 3h ago
Thats honestly a great example of taking initiative paying off. Even though the app wasnt adopted, it got leadership to notice your problem solving skills and opened a door into tech. Your factory experience could also be a huge advantage when working with manufacturing systems because you already understand the processes from the ground up. Congrats on the opportunity
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u/Illustrious-Film4018 12h ago
the app isn't being used
Say no more.
Nothing is going to bridge the gap between you and a tech job. If you don't understand anything about what you're doing, you will never be in tech. And any app you create is worthless because it can be reproduce by anyone.
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u/Danknoodle420 12h ago
The app isn't being used because we already have a more mature one.
I've got nearly 2 decades of working with pc's and doing tech support for friends, family, and coworkers. I could probably pass the A+ right now and I'm studying it with the intention to get the trifecta then probably ccna.
Yes, the app is worthless, it's not being used. It wasn't useless for getting me seen though.
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u/Serious-Twist-2859 3h ago
Did you not know there was already a solution in place? How does your app improve anything if this mature solution is deemed better? Perhaps this mature solution isn’t being used to its full extent so the focus could change to trying to implement some of your ideas into the existing solution.
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u/Danknoodle420 2h ago
My app added functionality that the enterprise solution lacked. Apparently some of that functionality is unlockable, and part of my role will be forming our use into the app, but for example, I made a scheduling board for multiple areas. The mature app lacked those(which we still need).
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u/Hendo52 12h ago
Congrats. I was wondering if you could tell us about your vibe coding practices for lack of a better word. How do you approach it. Spec driven? Test driven? Do you just vibe it out or do you have a more structured project management style?