/tech

Developer Fears Falling Behind Without AI Tools at Work

Posts describe a coder barred from AI tools at work and facing future skill gaps.

/tech

Developer Fears Falling Behind Without AI Tools at Work · Digg

Developer Fears Falling Behind Without AI Tools at Work

Posts describe a coder barred from AI tools at work and facing future skill gaps.

Santiago describes a developer whose employer forbids AI coding tools. The developer believes this role may be his last and that a layoff would leave him years behind peers. He received advice to seek new employment. Other posts note a friend who landed a $750,000 Anthropic role after studying agentic engineering. Additional comments urge personal experiments with models in free time and a shift from hand-written code toward problem solving.

Original post

SA Santiago@svpino 5:45 AM · Sep 7, 2026
Meet a developer who can't use AI because his company doesn't let him. He knows this is probably the last developer job he will ever have. If he gets laid off, he will be years behind everyone else. Scary place to be. I told him to find a new job.

Combined views

399.1K

6 posts, first seen 23h ago

3.6K likes480 comments1.1K saves177 reposts

Sentiment

Positive70.2%29.8%Negative

Based on 95 sentiment-bearing replies from 94 accounts across 4 conversations.

Developer Fears Falling Behind Without AI Tools at Work

Posts describe a coder barred from AI tools at work and facing future skill gaps.

Original post

SA Santiago@svpino 5:45 AM · Sep 7, 2026
Meet a developer who can't use AI because his company doesn't let him. He knows this is probably the last developer job he will ever have. If he gets laid off, he will be years behind everyone else. Scary place to be. I told him to find a new job.

Posts from X

56 posts

MA
Maximilian@maxedapps 22 hrs ago
If you're in this situation - build stuff in your free time. Doesn't have to be amazing or anything. But DO experiment with top models and agents. Again: Nothing big required. But don't sleep on it or ignore it!
- likes: 60
- replies: 5
- bookmarks: 8
- reposts: 1
KC
Kent C. Dodds 🐨@kentcdodds 21 hrs ago
If you're lamenting writing code by hand like something you love is being taken away from you, see if you can fall in love with solving problems instead. Maybe you'll find out that's what you really loved the whole time ❤️
- likes: 513
- replies: 31
- bookmarks: 266
- reposts: 44
1. CB
  Christoffer Bjelke@chribjel 20 hrs ago
  @kentcdodds In a way i realized i hated coding, and it was just a way for me to solve problems
  - likes: 2
  - replies: 1
  - bookmarks: 0
  - reposts: 0
2. MK
  Martin Kontsek@kontsek 20 hrs ago
  @kentcdodds Solving problems is for sure fulfilling, but writing code was the part that paid the bills. 💸
  - likes: 0
  - replies: 1
  - bookmarks: 0
  - reposts: 0
3. JA
  Jamon@jamonholmgren 19 hrs ago
  @kentcdodds I loved coding. I also enjoy problem solving. But I am definitely feeling a sense of loss. The possibilities are intoxicating too tho
  - likes: 3
  - replies: 0
  - bookmarks: 1
  - reposts: 0
MP
Matt Pocock@mattpocockuk 21 hrs ago
Tactical programming is dead Strategic programming has never been more vital
- likes: 1.3K
- replies: 55
- bookmarks: 537
- reposts: 65

Posts from X

5 posts

MA
Maximilian@maxedapps 22 hrs ago
If you're in this situation - build stuff in your free time. Doesn't have to be amazing or anything. But DO experiment with top models and agents. Again: Nothing big required. But don't sleep on it or ignore it!
- likes: 60
- replies: 5
- bookmarks: 8
- reposts: 1
KC
Kent C. Dodds 🐨@kentcdodds 21 hrs ago
If you're lamenting writing code by hand like something you love is being taken away from you, see if you can fall in love with solving problems instead. Maybe you'll find out that's what you really loved the whole time ❤️
- likes: 513
- replies: 31
- bookmarks: 266
- reposts: 44
MP
Matt Pocock@mattpocockuk 21 hrs ago
Tactical programming is dead Strategic programming has never been more vital
- likes: 1.3K
- replies: 55
- bookmarks: 537
- reposts: 65
MA
maharshi@maharshii 20 hrs ago
do people even write code by hand now?
- likes: 353
- replies: 118
- bookmarks: 20
- reposts: 5
RO
Roan@RohOnChain 17 hrs ago
My friend applied to 250 tech jobs in two years. No MIT. No Stanford. Last month Anthropic offered him $750,000 as an AI Engineer. I asked him how he broke in from zero. He sent me the exact video that got him in. Anthropic's 1-hour course on "How to become an AI agentic…
- likes: 71
- replies: 28
- bookmarks: 142
- reposts: 16

Combined views

399.1K

6 posts, first seen 23h ago

3.6K likes480 comments1.1K saves177 reposts

Sentiment

Positive70.2%29.8%Negative

Based on 95 sentiment-bearing replies from 94 accounts across 4 conversations.

Sentiment

Positive70.2%29.8%Negative

Based on 95 sentiment-bearing replies from 94 accounts across 4 conversations.

Sentiment

Positive70.2%29.8%Negative

Based on 95 sentiment-bearing replies from 94 accounts across 4 conversations.

Posts from X

56 posts

MA
Maximilian@maxedapps 22 hrs ago
If you're in this situation - build stuff in your free time. Doesn't have to be amazing or anything. But DO experiment with top models and agents. Again: Nothing big required. But don't sleep on it or ignore it!
- likes: 60
- replies: 5
- bookmarks: 8
- reposts: 1
KC
Kent C. Dodds 🐨@kentcdodds 21 hrs ago
If you're lamenting writing code by hand like something you love is being taken away from you, see if you can fall in love with solving problems instead. Maybe you'll find out that's what you really loved the whole time ❤️
- likes: 513
- replies: 31
- bookmarks: 266
- reposts: 44
1. CB
  Christoffer Bjelke@chribjel 20 hrs ago
  @kentcdodds In a way i realized i hated coding, and it was just a way for me to solve problems
  - likes: 2
  - replies: 1
  - bookmarks: 0
  - reposts: 0
2. MK
  Martin Kontsek@kontsek 20 hrs ago
  @kentcdodds Solving problems is for sure fulfilling, but writing code was the part that paid the bills. 💸
  - likes: 0
  - replies: 1
  - bookmarks: 0
  - reposts: 0
3. JA
  Jamon@jamonholmgren 19 hrs ago
  @kentcdodds I loved coding. I also enjoy problem solving. But I am definitely feeling a sense of loss. The possibilities are intoxicating too tho
  - likes: 3
  - replies: 0
  - bookmarks: 1
  - reposts: 0
MP
Matt Pocock@mattpocockuk 21 hrs ago
Tactical programming is dead Strategic programming has never been more vital
- likes: 1.3K
- replies: 55
- bookmarks: 537
- reposts: 65