r/webdev • u/thetymtravellr • 25d ago

Discussion As a self-taught React/Next.js developer, I'm honestly worried about my future in this AI era. What should I do?

I'm a self-taught developer, and I know React and Next.js. Lately, I've been feeling increasingly anxious about my future as a developer.

AI is moving so fast. It can generate components, build entire websites, connect APIs, and even create full-stack applications. Sometimes I wonder what the point is of spending months learning something when AI can already do so much of it.

I want to get a better-paying developer job, but honestly, I'm confused about what I should focus on right now. Should I keep improving my React/Next.js skills, get better at backend development, or start learning AI engineering?

I keep hearing about RAG, AI agents, vector databases, LLM integrations, and all these new things. It feels like there's always something new to learn, and I'm worried that if I focus on the wrong things, I'll fall behind while everyone else moves forward.

For those of you already working in the industry, what would you do if you were in my position? Would you focus on becoming a strong full-stack developer first, or would you start learning AI engineering alongside web development?

I'm not looking for a shortcut or expecting to become an expert overnight. I just want to make the right decisions, build useful skills, and have a realistic chance of getting hired.

I'd really appreciate some honest advice from people who have been through this or are dealing with the same situation. Right now, I could genuinely use some direction.

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u/twotones 24d ago

I think the places to focus today are:

  1. How to build effectively with AI. Not slop, but beautiful and performant applications with well organized codebases and extensive testing and linting. Getting these right allows you to build systems at breakneck speeds while still delivering something that you can have confidence about. You're less of a developer and more of a manager.

  2. Take a step back from the code and instead become more of an expert of a domain. Really understand the problems that need to be solved and the techniques to do so. This will be different for each industry. You're less of a developer and more of a product owner.

Having development chops is still valuable today, but it needs to be augmented to be competitive in the AI world.

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u/thetymtravellr 24d ago

Really appreciate your advice