Something’s been bugging me about how new devs and I need to talk about it. We’re at this weird inflection point in software development. Every junior dev I talk to has Copilot or Claude or GPT running 24/7. They’re shipping code faster than ever. But when I dig deeper into their understanding of what they’re shipping? That’s where things get concerning. Sure, the code works, but ask why it works that way instead of another way? Crickets. Ask about edge cases? Blank stares. The foundational knowledge that used to come from struggling through problems is just… missing. We’re trading deep understanding for quick fixes, and while it feels great in the moment, we’re going to pay for this later.
I’m forced to use Copilot at work and as far as code completion goes, it gets it right 10-15% of the times… the rest of the time it just suggests random — credible-looking — noise or hallucinates variables and shit.
but seriously, it’s almost never one (1) thing that goes wrong when some idiotic mandate gets handed down from management.
a manager that mandates use of copilot (or any tool unfit for any given job), that’s a manager that’s going to mandate a bunch of other nonsensical shit that gets in the way of work. every time.
I’m forced to use Copilot at work and as far as code completion goes, it gets it right 10-15% of the times… the rest of the time it just suggests random — credible-looking — noise or hallucinates variables and shit.
Forced to use copilot? Wtf?
I would quit, immediately.
Pay my bills. Thanks.
I’ve been dusting off the CV, for multiple other reasons.
how surprising! /s
but seriously, it’s almost never one (1) thing that goes wrong when some idiotic mandate gets handed down from management.
a manager that mandates use of copilot (or any tool unfit for any given job), that’s a manager that’s going to mandate a bunch of other nonsensical shit that gets in the way of work. every time.