The best way to be employed is to be unemployed.

As I read Talent Collapse or Talent Evolution? by Andrew Miller, my perspective hasn’t really shifted—because deep down, I already know. The languages I’m pouring my days and nights into, the syntax I’m mastering, the frameworks I’m building in—one day, they will be replaced or heavily assisted by AI.

It’s an uncomfortable truth: with the rise of AI, much of what’s being taught in universities is starting to feel obsolete. The traditional university environment is beginning to lose its relevance. We’re heading toward a world filled with no-code coders, “vibe coding” their way through projects and pushing their errors to AI to fix.

If that’s what programming is becoming, why should we keep learning these languages? Why should we flex our LeetCode stats when it feels no different from memorizing exam answers we never apply in the real world?

But here’s the thing:
Tech is the future.
AI is not the end—it’s a new chapter in the evolution of software, just like the invention of the iPhone was a revolution for mobile tech.

To Gen Z—the quick learners who are already surprising industry leaders with wild, unexpected ideas—you might never out-code AI, and that’s okay. I get it. That mix of relief and fear when AI solves your bug in seconds? It’s real. But don’t get lost trying to follow the same rigid path universities have laid out. That’s how we end up with waves of “developers” who only know HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, maybe Node—and suddenly, they’re calling themselves software engineers.

Choose your path intentionally. Ask yourself:
• What can I offer?
• What do I love doing?
• What makes my perspective or my project valuable, not just functional?

Ignore the noise. That one friend who’s a beast at JS or Python? Good for them. But you’re on your own journey.

Some things to consider:
• Learn to program, not just to code.
• Use AI to save time on repetition and syntax—but don’t let it think for you. Debugging builds your brain.
• Focus on higher-level concepts: security, databases, clean architecture, design patterns, scalability. Learn to prompt and collaborate with AI, not lean on it.
• Think like a startup founder, not just a coder. A silly project can be done by AI. A great project can also be done by AI. So make sure your project defines value.
• Feeling like an imposter? Talk to that friend who’s “cracked it.” Ask how they learn. Share knowledge instead of silently comparing.
• And most importantly: Sleep well. Think clearly. Be social. Stay adaptable. Be happy—even if you’re unemployed.

The hype around tech jobs has lingered since 2018–2019. Parents and relatives are still pushing kids into “learning to code” without realizing how vast and overwhelming this world can be. And when the hype fades, and the market saturates, the job might shift from being “heroic” to “meh, let me take a nap first.”

So take care of your direction. Define your purpose. Be more than just a coder.

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The best way to be employed is to be unemployed. As I read the post Talent Collapse or Talent Evolution? by ‘Andrew Miller’, my own perspective has not shifted, because I already know, that those knowledge of the languages that I’m spending days and night learning and applying right now, will one day will be replaced by AI. But it is an ugly truth that with the hype of AI, along with the knowledge that is being taught in universities. This university environment will no longer look like they should take in students anymore. Else the world will be bombarded with
no-code coder who is only vibe coding and push the error to AI for it to fix the issue.
If this is the issue, I would rather not learning any languages/ I would rather stop showing how many problems I got on Leetcode (this is nothing different from preparing for uni based-exam answers without knowing how to apply it in real world situation).

Instead if you are a programmer, and you see that your life is not taking up the hype of the tech sector. Remind yourself that, Tech is the future, AI is a new software evolution that just like the invention of the Iphone.

To the GenZ, who are the quick learner, who came up with some crazy —- unexpected solutions that surprise the industrial leaders. You can never “be better and quicker than AI” at writing code( * I know that you have mixed feelings, relieving and fear when you see your problems get solved by AI while thinking that what can I do? * ). It might not be a safe route for you to twirl into a new path where the university has not crafted. However, following the same path will only resulted in redundant coder who can only code web and app (knowing HTML/CSS/Javascript/React, NodeJs,…) then calling themselves software developer. Please consider your path carefully, what can you offer, what you love to do, ignoring that one friend who is excelled at JS/Python.
Everyone time is limited, what you are offering is more important than what skills you are having. However, I won’t disregard the fact that students should not become developer anymore.

Yeah if you scroll down here, you see I use chatGPT to ask it rewrite my post. Which you like more? Def the former?

Consider these:

• Learn to code (X) | Learn to programming (/)
• Using AI in assisting with repeated code and syntax checking to save your time, don’t let it do the debugging for you.
• Learn high-end concepts: managing database, working on security concepts when building the application, best coding practices, design pattern… and prompt it to AI.
• Act like a startup, don’t act like a coder. Silly project can be done by AI, good project can also be done by AI, so ensure yourself project defines value. Be your own employee.
• How can my friends be so good at this? Stop the imposter syndrome instead go directly to them and ask them about the source and how they learn.
• Most importantly, sleep well, think well, be socialized, and adaptive to new knowledge. Be happy even when you are unemployed.

With the hype in the Technology sector still lingers from the 2018..2019 era, parents and their relatives push their kids into learning code. If only they could realize how big and insurmountable this world of code really is? And the job prospect in the near future will make this job from a hero to a “anyways let me take a nap first”.