Intro

“Will AI replace mid-level engineers in 2025?” → I’ve seen this question coming up a lot recently on social media and also a few people have reached out about this.

In today’s article, I am sharing my take on this + my prediction what might happen in the future. I am also sharing my overall tips for engineers to stay ahead of the curve and ensure to be future-proof.

If you haven’t yet, I highly recommend to also read the article Become a great engineering leader in 2025 (paid article).

I’ve shared my prediction and a LOT of tips + resources on what to focus on in 2025 in order to be a highly effective engineering leader in 2025 and beyond.

This is an article for paid subscribers, and here is the full index:

- The origin of this question
- Let’s start with the definition of a mid-level engineer
🔒 Here is my take, whether AI will replace mid-level engineers in 2025
🔒 I believe that in the future Software Engineers will not be replaced, but they will become a lot more productive
🔒 Programmer → Software Engineer → what’s next?
🔒 Here is what you should do
🔒 Here are some other potential routes that you can choose
🔒 Last words

Resources mentioned in the article:

• Become a great engineering leader in 2025 (paid article)

• Timeless skills in Software Development (paid article)

• 100+ resources to become a great engineering leader (paid article)

Let’s go straight into it.

The origin of this question

To give some context, this question is based on the interview between Mark Zuckerberg and Joe Rogan, where Mark mentioned:

"Probably in 2025. We at Meta. As well as the other companies that are basically working on this, are going to have an AI that can effectively be a sort of mid-level engineer that you have at your company that can write code.

And then over time, we'll get to the point where a lot of the code in our apps, including the AI that we generate is actually going to be built by AI engineers instead of people engineers.”

You can watch the short clip in my yesterday’s LinkedIn post. Or you can watch the full podcast episode here: Joe Rogan Experience #2255 - Mark Zuckerberg.

Let’s start with the definition of a mid-level engineer

In order to be able to answer the question, we need to define what actually makes a mid-level engineer.

The definition varies from company to company, but I’ll share what makes a mid-level engineer for me:

A mid-level engineer:

• Has a great understanding of one programming language and one framework + they are competent in multiple others.

• They are able to work independently on complex tasks with minimal guidance and deliver solutions timely and with the right quality.

• They are capable of designing systems, leading small teams and mentoring junior engineers.

• They are able to make pragmatic decisions about trade-offs within their code and systems.

• They can collaborate effectively with people in the Software Development process and they are able to provide clear feedback to others regarding their work.

• They don’t just blindly build based on requirements, but rather they understand why something needs to be build and propose a simpler solution.

And now that we understand the expectations of a mid-level engineer. Let’s answer the question.

Here is my take, whether AI will replace mid-level engineers in 2025...