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Learned to code, can't land interviews
Following the advice
From first grade on, teachers and neighbors gave him the same advice. He learned HTML and made websites in elementary school, built apps in middle and high school, and was a teaching assistant for computer science in college. He loved the logic and the puzzle of programming, and the job was never the only reason.
The new advice
Graduates like him are now told that learning AI should be easy for them: vibe code, or pivot to being a forward-deployed engineer who consults with companies on getting more AI into their businesses. Some feel the tech industry gaslighted them and that the years they devoted to programming no longer count for much.
Teaching shifts toward AI
Code.org is making AI a bigger part of how it teaches computer science, and colleges are working AI into their programs too. The Computer Science Teachers Association, which represents ten thousand teachers, has decided that computer science should center humans, not machines.
Where did forward-deployed engineers come from?
The job title was popularized by Palantir, the data software company founded in 2003. Its engineers worked on site with customers such as government agencies and large companies, adapting the software to their problems. The name borrows from military language, where forward-deployed troops are stationed near the front. AI companies have since used the title for staff who help customers put models into their products.
Why did learning to code become standard advice?
In the early 2010s, software developer jobs paid well and employers said they struggled to fill them. Codecademy launched its Code Year campaign in January 2012, emailing weekly programming lessons to subscribers. New York mayor Michael Bloomberg publicly announced that he had signed up.
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