write programs on your own #techjobs #juniordeveloper #coding

22 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief dialogue, Speaker A advises junior software developers to continuously write and release their own programs as the primary way to gain practical experience. Speaker B raises the concern that AI is reducing junior job opportunities, prompting Speaker A to explain how self‑directed learning helped them transition into a software engineering role. The conversation highlights that most companies provide little time for learning on the job, so aspiring engineers must seek external resources such as conferences and university extension classes, but the core recommendation remains: personal coding projects are essential for building a portfolio and mastering the full software development lifecycle.

Write programs constantly on your own so you can gain experience.
AI is arguably taking a lot of junior opportunities. What do I do if I'm junior?
That's definitely true. And that, that gets back to how I started as a junior. Before I was even a software engineer, I was writing programs and releasing them. That's how I learned. I was teaching myself the entire software development lifecycle. And the other thing is most companies don't give us any time to learn new stuff. It's work, work, work, work, work, no learning. So we have to learn on our own, either by going to conferences, going to extension classes at universities, but the number one thing that software engineers need to do is write programs constantly on your own and release them so you can gain experience.