People don't appreciate how much of engineering is just as you've described.

When they imagine someone using AI (except for themself), they imagine the least curious, least inquisitive vibe-coder. And they invent the idea that the only way to be someone who asks questions or remains curious is to have paid the dues that they see themself as having paid. Therefore the world must always need them.

Well, all you have to do now is imagine the vibe-coder who has the same curiosity and inquisitiveness that you had especially when you were starting out and weren't yet a professional programmer. The only difference is that now you don't have to bootstrap a whole software career to understand how things work; you can skip that and merely ask.

Admittedly, a lot of my identity was wrapped up in those hard earned skills. I have empathy for those struggling to chart a new path for themselves. It does not, however, change the fact that tools evolve. Ultimately, using tools effectively is how we are measured and while you may have needed a shovel yesterday, today you have an excavator.