Transcript

00:00:00over the last months or maybe year or so since ai is becoming more and more of a thing and you
00:00:05can't escape it i frequently get the question in my live streams below my videos in my courses
00:00:11whether you should maybe switch away from being a developer or especially also a web developer
00:00:16maybe towards devops or cyber security or maybe leave the sector entirely and become a farmer
00:00:24now i don't know about the farmer thing if that's your thing sure do it but yeah let's stay here if on
00:00:31on the first two parts devops and cyber security or in general should you leave web development now
00:00:38first of all there have been better days surprise surprise the job market is actually picking up a
00:00:46bit if we take a look at this chart here which on first sight is super depressing where we had that
00:00:51peak here during the pandemic and then it's just sharply declined here we can see that since early
00:00:572026 it is slightly increasing again and that looks even better if we like narrow it down so that the
00:01:05peak is not included so we we actually have an increase here in software development job postings
00:01:11on indeed in the united states so obviously not the entire world and not just web development but still
00:01:17um a good proxy things are getting better but i get it ai is all about uncertainty we don't know
00:01:26how the future job as a developer web developer will look like if people will need web developers or
00:01:32developers um and and obviously i can't look into the future too but i think what we're seeing and i
00:01:38talked about this in another recent episode is that companies are hopefully as it seems right now
00:01:47to conclusion that ai is maybe better used as a tool instead of doing token maxing and going all in
00:01:53and seeing ai as a perfect replacement for people right now and i have the strong belief that this
00:01:59will continue for the foreseeable future because ai is an amazing tool it can really help you
00:02:06but it is not that replacement there are so many aspects of being a human of being an employee and so
00:02:14many things where ai is lacking and i do talk in that other episode also about it that employees will be
00:02:21needed in the future too and that has been the case with all technological breakthroughs and so on
00:02:26so i think if you're a developer or a web developer yes you will be needed in the future too and more
00:02:32and more companies will realize that they need those developers now the role will change likely there
00:02:39will be ai involved clearly it may be a combination of writing code by hand and using ai there will most
00:02:46likely be code reviews involved and coming up with specifications definitely i think what your job will
00:02:53be to shape the code base and that can be done by hand and by using ai and ideally by using that
00:02:59combination ai can be helpful for research researching stuff and so on so ai will play a role but so will the
00:03:06actual developer and be able to work with you and you could definitely make the argument that through ai
00:03:12maybe more companies get enabled to tackle more ambitious projects and they will still need human
00:03:19employees side by side with ai so as a web developer that expertise you can bring to the table will
00:03:27probably i believe matter in the future just as it mattered in the past so staying a developer or a web
00:03:35developer i think is not a bad idea but of course i get it right now the job market especially for juniors is
00:03:42not great so there may also be other attractive areas to work in
00:03:48now are these areas devops and cyber security though if we stay in the tech sector or should you
00:03:55maybe switch to these sectors if you're not finding a job as a web developer right now
00:04:00my answer is a maybe for a couple of reasons now let's stay start with devops devops can be a pretty
00:04:07broad term uh here i mostly mean stuff like managing servers cicd working with github with docker stuff
00:04:15like that these are skills i think every web developer should have to some level an essential
00:04:21basic understanding of what docker is how to use it the same goes for git and github and i think you should
00:04:27also be able to at least set up a vps for example and if you're interested in that by the way on
00:04:34academy.com slash courses i don't just have amazing courses on cloud code and codex i have for example
00:04:40also a course on vps essential so that you can learn how to securely set up a vps and i have way more
00:04:46courses there about all kinds of stuff including docker github actions so that could be useful and of
00:04:52course you can also take our membership to get access to all the courses as long as you are an
00:04:57active member so that may be interesting to you i think these are skills every developer should have
00:05:04but is it a career you should switch into the first important thing here is that if you don't enjoy it
00:05:11you shouldn't and that is true no matter which career or which part of the job we're talking about
00:05:17obviously we all have to do stuff we don't like myself included even though i'm self-employed from
00:05:22time to time but if you're mostly working on something you don't like that's not a good idea
00:05:27and that wasn't a good idea for being a developer too i know there are people that are just in the
00:05:32market for the money and that is kind of valid but it was never my thing if i don't enjoy what i'm
00:05:38working on i will not be doing it very good and i won't be doing it for very long so i think you need
00:05:44to truly enjoy doing all that devops related stuff and since i believe that every developer should have
00:05:50the essentials there looking into those essential technologies learning a bit about docker learning
00:05:55about a bit about github and so on or other cicd tools besides github actions that is a good idea and
00:06:02you obviously don't have to do it with my courses they are great resources but i'm not just saying this
00:06:06here to sell you my courses i think this is really something every developer should do to some extent
00:06:12now if that's a more secure career than being an actual developer i can't tell you because
00:06:19if ai would come to a point where it can replace developers and web developers because it can produce
00:06:26code that's so good that you really need way less humans then it can probably also set up cicd
00:06:35workflows and do server administration and so on really really well so i don't think that's a good hedge
00:06:42against ai replacing developers if it can truly replace developers and we're not close to that yet
00:06:48just to make that really clear but if it would truly replace developers it will also be able to a large
00:06:55extent to replace devops people now you could make the argument oh no companies will surely want real
00:07:02humans doing devops really do companies want real humans managing their servers make sense on first
00:07:10sight right but wouldn't you say the same for writing the code for building the actual product if companies
00:07:17don't care about their products being broken because of ai then their servers being broken would probably not
00:07:25matter to them too now it will likely matter and that brings me back to the other point if the ai is good
00:07:31enough to write the code it's i mean truly good enough it will likely also be good enough to manage
00:07:37the servers and that problem won't exist if it does exist then neither the job as a developer nor for
00:07:42devops will be fully replaced by ai and real employees humans will be needed now what about cyber security
00:07:50here i think it's a bit more interesting now for one still if you don't like it it's not a good direction to to go
00:07:57also i would say entering cyber security is is probably a bit harder than the devops and web dev stuff
00:08:03because you really need to spend more time learning how software and computers work in depth how to abuse
00:08:16security holds vulnerabilities you need to dive into ethical hacking finding security vulnerabilities
00:08:26understanding in depth how certain concepts like like memory truly work under the hood since many
00:08:34leaks and vulnerabilities are for example related to memory related bugs in code and so on so
00:08:41i think for one that the bar is higher here if you're starting from scratch to really become a good
00:08:48cyber security expert because it's it's not as easy to to pick up the skills there in my opinion
00:08:56as it is maybe coming from web dev going to devops it's definitely doable but it will be more
00:09:02challenging it's it's a it's a a longer way from web dev to being a cyber security expert than it is to
00:09:09being really good at devops that is at least my belief may just also be the case because i'm really not
00:09:17into cyber security uh at all i i'm i'm far from being an expert there so to me it seems far more
00:09:26difficult to to make that transition so that's one point but still definitely doable now the prospects in
00:09:33of that market of that market so to say i think look really well because what we can see of course is
00:09:38that also thanks to ai for many reasons about which i also talked in other episodes attacks are becoming
00:09:45more frequent vulnerabilities are becoming exposed quicker and quicker also with help of ai and there is
00:09:55likely more demand for cyber security companies and expert in the future than there is right now i would
00:10:03guess now ai can also of course replace some jobs there probably if you follow that narrative and i think
00:10:12one thing ai is really good at already is when it comes to finding bugs or security vulnerabilities
00:10:20because it's one thing to generate something that's really really good it's often easier to find a
00:10:28problem in an existing thing in an existing piece of software and ai is not bad at that still humans
00:10:36will be needed there i'm not talking about ai doing it all i'm just saying that ai can definitely help
00:10:41there too so it's not like this is an an area cyber security where you only need humans and no ai ai at
00:10:50all i think that is absolutely not the case so i can't tell how many new jobs will be generated there
00:10:59definitely some because again this is becoming more and more of a topic and therefore this can be an
00:11:05interesting area to switch to or to get into cyber security that is but again i think it's it's a longer
00:11:12way it is probably a bit harder it requires a a skill set that that does partially kind of overlap with
00:11:22the skill set of a developer but then again um also requires you to think quite differently about certain
00:11:29aspects dive deeper um and whilst it may definitely be interesting if it's not something you enjoy as i
00:11:36mentioned i don't think it's a good idea and that is true for every job if you don't enjoy it at all
00:11:43getting into it is not a good idea maybe now more than ever now that we have ai because humans i think
00:11:52will excel and far exceed uh what ai can give you as a company in the areas they truly care about they're
00:12:01truly invested and interested in and and therefore this is an aspect that's not to be underestimated and
00:12:07i fully get that we all need to make a living and you can't do just what you enjoy every second of the day but
00:12:14you should at least do something or try to do something which you enjoy most of the seconds of your day
00:12:20so yeah these are are my points on that and obviously you could add more professions here
00:12:26these are just of the two of the ones i i heard about most often and hopefully my perspective here
00:12:34was a bit helpful but as always also share yours and share what i maybe missed or what you think about
00:12:39that transition or about the future as a developer and in these other areas in general

Key Takeaway

Human expertise remains essential alongside AI in software development and DevOps, provided developers continuously evolve their technical skills and focus on areas they genuinely enjoy.

Highlights

  • Software development job postings on Indeed in the United States show an increase since early 2026, following a decline after the pandemic peak.

  • Companies are shifting from viewing AI as a total replacement for employees to using it as a supplemental tool for coding, code reviews, and specifications.

  • Every web developer should possess core skills such as managing servers, configuring virtual private servers (VPS), and utilizing Docker and Git.

  • Cybersecurity requires a more challenging, in-depth understanding of how software, memory, and vulnerabilities function compared to transitioning into DevOps.

  • AI is already capable of finding bugs and security vulnerabilities in software, meaning it will likely impact the labor demand in both development and cybersecurity.

Timeline

State of the Job Market

  • Software development job postings on Indeed in the U.S. have trended upward since early 2026.
  • AI currently serves as a tool for research and coding assistance rather than a direct replacement for human developers.
  • Future developer roles will likely involve a combination of manual coding, code reviews, and managing AI-generated specifications.

The job market experienced a sharp decline following a pandemic-era peak but has shown growth in early 2026. While uncertainty regarding AI persists, companies are increasingly treating AI as a utility to handle routine tasks, which enables teams to pursue more ambitious projects. The role of the developer is evolving to focus on shaping codebases while leveraging AI for research and implementation.

Evaluating a Switch to DevOps

  • DevOps skills like Docker, Git, and server management are essential competencies for all web developers.
  • Moving into a DevOps-focused role is not a guaranteed hedge against AI, as AI will eventually be capable of managing infrastructure if it becomes capable of writing software.
  • Choosing a career path strictly for money without genuine interest leads to poor performance and low career longevity.

DevOps is defined as managing servers, CI/CD pipelines, and containerization. These technical proficiencies are recommended as standard knowledge for every developer. Because AI development trajectories are similar for both coding and infrastructure management, transitioning to DevOps solely to avoid AI replacement is ineffective. Sustained interest in the subject matter is the most critical factor for career success.

Transitioning to Cybersecurity

  • Cybersecurity has a higher barrier to entry than DevOps, requiring a deep understanding of memory management and ethical hacking.
  • Increased frequency of AI-assisted cyberattacks will likely drive higher demand for cybersecurity experts.
  • AI tools are already effective at identifying security vulnerabilities, which will shift, but not eliminate, the need for human security professionals.

Cybersecurity requires a different mental model compared to standard development, involving the analysis of low-level system mechanics and vulnerability exploits. While the transition is more challenging than moving into DevOps, the security landscape offers growth potential due to the rising sophistication of attacks. Human oversight remains a requirement even as AI improves at discovering bugs and security flaws.

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