I don't understand people that say "I no longer code" as a good thing. I think it's safe to assume that if you studied computer science or similar you like to code. If not, why did you even study that?

To me it just feels like you want to be a manager not an engineer

This is like if a plumber said. I no longer do any construction, I just tell people what to do. Then you probably aren't a builder anymore, you are a foreman or a project manager.

I think your job as an engineer is to know the codebase and how it was engineered

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spijdar 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> If not, why did you even study that?

I like to make computers do the things I want. Since I was a kid, the satisfaction from programming or any sort of "computer engineering" (using the word engineering VERY loosely here) is in making something specific happen.

Sometimes, that means understanding the correct data structure to use, picking the right algorithm, and other computer science-y things.

Other times, and more often (for me), it means death by a thousand papercuts in managing third party dependencies, boilerplate, and other tedium and minutia.

I'm not someone who is "proud" of barely coding anymore, and I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the "structural soundness" of using LLMs this way (most of my coding is personal/hobbyist work), but I can confidently say that I don't really code just because I love coding, at least necessarily. I like making stuff.

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ai_critic 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> To me it just feels like you want to be a manager not an engineer

A manager has access to a larger, sloppier, and more powerful API than an engineer.

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maximilianburke 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It’s like saying “I no longer read or write assembly”; you are still solving problems but you are able to work in a higher level space to do it.

	▲	gonzalohm 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		What do you mean "solve problems"? Everyone solves problems at their job. A CEO solves problems, same for a salesman. But if you have been hired to a position that requires reading and writing assembly, then I would hope that anyone applying likes to do specifically that. I don't want to solve problems at the manager level, I want to solve problems that require coding

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grim_io 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Do architects have to like laying bricks?

	▲	dspillett 5 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Some of us like the details. Bricklayers are not subhuman! You architect if you want, or manage which is what agentic <whatever> seems like to me, I'm sticking to coding until I can't any more (or get properly sick of it all, which is likely to come first given everything is getting both more and more remote and more drowned in AI and I want neither) then I'm doing something completely different because I don't want to manage (people or agents).
	▲	Balooga 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		There is the level of understanding of the concept of a Quicksort function, how it works, when to use it. And then there is the level of understanding gained of opening up an editor and trying to write a Quicksort function in Go or C++ or Python or whatever. I wouldn't consider the latter to be "laying bricks".
	▲	pyrale 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		No, but architects can’t just make the plans and never look at the output, there needs to be someone that checks that the work is done properly and fit to spec.
	▲	Joel_Mckay 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Careful, LEGO style bricks were initially a product intended for professional architects. =3
	▲	gonzalohm 5 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Do architects start as construction workers? It's a completely different career. That's my point. OP should have studied to be a manager

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ramesh31 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

>"This is like if a plumber said. I no longer do any construction, I just tell people what to do."

I'm pretty sure that's the dream goal of any plumber. No one "plumbs for fun". No one wants to truly do the actual thing, they want the money that allows them to do whatever they want. It's just that doing the actual thing is the only way you can get the money at first. And being good at doing the actual thing and enjoying doing the actual thing makes doing the actual thing bareable or even fun while reaching your actual goal (the money). As soon as you can free yourself from that you will.

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ChrisLTD 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Some people like doing DIY plumbing and related tasks around their own homes. Work might not be "fun" in the traditional sense, but it can be satisfying to build and fix things.

	▲	pyrale 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		That’s also true of coding. There’s nothing that sucks the fun of it as effectively as doing it for pay.

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apical_dendrite 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

This is just wrong. A lot of people take tremendous pride in their work. Particularly highly-skilled people who have been doing the work for a long time.

Joe Biden used to say this all the time - that a job is more than a paycheck, it's an identity and a sense of purpose, often a big part of our social lives as well. Or if you prefer the other side, Trump likes to say that coal miners don't want to learn computers, they want their coal mining jobs back.