AI writes the code now. Now what?
The question isn’t whether to use AI. It’s whether you understand the system well enough to review what it built.
What does a software career actually look like now?
AI tools now generate, test, and refactor code faster than most of us can type. Engineering teams are 30–40% more productive, meaning companies produce more with fewer people. Entry-level roles that once trained new grads have been cut significantly across Big Tech and startups alike. The engineers being hired today are expected to design systems, review AI output, make product decisions, and ship end-to-end.
The catch: if you never wrote the code in the first place, you don’t yet know what good looks like. New grads face a double burden: leverage AI effectively while building the judgment to know when it’s getting it wrong. The bar for proof of work has gone up, not down.
“If someone is applying for a software development role and has never used an agentic coding tool like Claude Code or Codex to build a product, that’s an immediate red flag.”
The skills that got you hired aren’t the skills being asked of you now.
Ivan Lee is CEO of Datasaur, a 60-person startup that has raised $8M. He estimates his engineers are now up to 40% more productive with AI. In the past, he would have hired more people to produce the same output. He is still hiring new grads, with an eye to the future: if he doesn’t build the pipeline now, he has no one to grow into senior roles later.
What he looks for has changed. He no longer tries to stop candidates from using AI in interviews. He assumes they will and is looking to see whether they understand what good looks like, and whether they can guide the AI to get there. His engineers are energized by their newfound leverage and ability to ship more than they ever thought possible.
“New grads have to learn to use AI while also learning what good looks like, then use AI to get there. It’s almost double the work. But I’m seeing young engineers figure this out and inspire the rest of our team.”
Proof of work checklist for entry-level engineers
Leetcode scores get filtered. Here are the things that actually get you hired.
The engineers getting hired use AI as a multiplier
You need to be fluent enough to direct these tools toward production-ready outcomes — and show your work.
AI is redrawing the map.
We'll help you read it.
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