Tangential, but I don't want to use LLMs for writing code because it's one of the things I enjoy the most in life, but it's feeling that I'm going to need to have to to get ready for the next years of my career. I've had some experiences with Claude that have seriously impressed me, but it takes away the fun that I've found in my jobs since I was in middle school writing small programs.
Does anyone have advice for maintaining this feeling but also going with the flow and using LLMs to be more productive (since it feels like it'll be required in the next few years at many jobs)? Do I just have to accept that work will become work and I'll have to get my fix through hobby projects?
Treat them as resources for remembering/exploring code libraries and documentation. For example, I needed to import some JSON files as structs into Unreal Engine. Gemini helped me to quickly identify the classes UE has for working with JSON.
To me this article sums up the most frustrating part about software engineers believing themselves to be the part of the business with the most complex, unknowable work.
"Most non-technical leaders have never really engaged with the real work of software and systems management. They don’t know what it’s like to update a major dependency, complete a refactor, or learn a new language."
_Every_ function in a tech business has hidden complexity. Most parts of the business have to deal with human, interpersonal complexity (like sales and customer support) far more than do engineers. By comparison, actually, engineering only has to deal with the complexity of the computer which is at least deterministic.
As a result, lots of engineers never learn how to present to the business the risk of the kinds of complexity they deal with. They would prefer to ignore the human realities of working on a team with other people and grumble that the salesperson turned CEO just doesn't get them, man.
This could be bias talking, though. Is it common for sales or support teams to be given milestones that are off by 50%?