The Primeagen
It's the best of times, it’s the worst of times.
Never has software been more approachable than today. As an example, if you find a new library, you can git clone it and ask for personalized tutorials based on the repo. Absolutely magic. If I had this when I was learning to code, I cannot imagine where I would be today.
But all that glitters is not gold, and our professional future in software has never been more unclear. Layoffs across many large companies, Dario proclaiming software is over on a regular basis, and a general feeling of doing more work than ever whilst being less satisfied than ever.
To make everything even more confusing, software quality feels like it's at its lowest point ever. I cannot use any major site without running into a bug, and the promise of unlimited high quality software touted in headlines and social media still feels deeply unmet.
This is what makes 2026 so interesting. The dust has not settled. The die is not cast. There is no definitive conclusion yet. The next couple years could be one of the most influential time in all of software engineering, and we all get to play a part in it.
On a personal note the most fascinating part of this revolution is the role of personal discipline. Some of us press the easy button faster than we should, and I am guilty of it too because it is just so alluring. Never have I had something that is simultaneously so useful and so deadly.
And on an even more personal note, part of me is sad. The profession I fell in love with is changing whether I want it to or not–and more importantly I have to change with it. Please do not confuse this with me saying “just prompt bro.”: I am not declaring that software engineering is dead, far from it. I just feel that periods of headphones in, Miss Monique blasting, and 6 hours of unbroken coding simply just happen less, and are potentially just needed less.
I cannot look into the future and know what's next, but I can make one promise that always seems to be true for software: being competent is fun.