Three Pieces of Advice for Students and Career Changers
The bar for new software engineers moved up. Three pieces of advice for students and career changers: learn as you build, focus on how you work, vibe first.
If you study computer science, or you want to become a software engineer, you probably wonder about this: AI Code Is Already Correct, So Why Review? says the bar moved up, so how do I clear it?
My answer is that the core value of a software engineer is not software. It is the way you work.
The learning loop
Advice 1: learn as you build
Learn at the point where you are. First learn to read and check code. Then work on writing fast.
At the end of each work session, I use a tool to review the mistakes I made. I pick one topic and write it as one note. Every article in this series grew out of notes like that, one at a time.
Advice 2: the core is the way you work
Break the problem down, check the result, and keep improving. This way of working fits any role.
I think this is the core value that marks a professional software engineer. With AI, engineers have more free time. Some engineers even start to learn product, design, or sales, and grow outside their field.
Advice 3: vibe first, then go deep (optional, but I recommend it)
If you know nothing yet, use AI to build something real first. After you build it, a pile of problems will appear. That is the best time to go deeper.
The problems tell you what to learn. You do not need to read every book before you start.
Build it first, and let the problems tell you what to learn.
Related: next, read Design Yourself as a System, revisit why the bar moved, or go back to the series overview: Will AI Take My Job?