In December 2024, OpenAI announced the release of their new reasoning model known as o3, which demonstrates improved capabilities in multiple areas, including coding and mathematics. Along with its lower-cost counterpart, the o3-mini, which offers several scalable options for code generation and problem-solving, it spurred a new wave of discussion about human developers potentially being replaced with AI. However, in reality, the growing proliferation of AI does not mean that human developers become unnecessary; on the contrary, the demand for professionals who can use novel instruments, such as AI and machine learning, and implement them reliably for solving practical tasks is only growing. Alexandr Hacicheant, a Technical Lead and Head of Reliability Engineering at Mayflower, a Senior member of IEEE, Fellow of the British Computing Society and Raptors.dev organizations, shares his view on building a software development career in the age of AI and explains how a developer can remain relevant in the environment of a rapidly developing technology.
Combining General Knowledge with Mastering Specific Technology
Alexandr states that no matter how far technology has advanced, there are tasks that cannot be delegated entirely to AI, for example, those related to the security and reliability of the IT infrastructure or establishing the structure of a larger scale. "While AI-based tools can be efficient in solving smaller-scale, routine tasks, they still require thorough control and testing," comments Alexandr. "Determining the developing strategy and taking larger-scale decisions about the product also would be impossible without human input." Consequently, focusing on the skills that are necessary to perform these tasks becomes essential for achieving success in the tech industry.
Another limitation of AI tools that is necessary to keep in mind is that they cannot always account for the specifics of a particular project, especially if it has a complex structure combining multiple solutions. Consequently, studying a particular technology or knowledge area to the maximum extent possible and acquiring deep theoretical and practical understanding is another way to remain relevant.
Becoming Part of the Community
For anyone who plans to build their career and software development, participating in open-source projects is a necessary step. "By taking part in open-source projects, an aspiring developer advances his career in several ways," comments Alexandr Hacicheant. "Firstly, they accumulate the necessary practical experience, applying their knowledge to real-life problems. Secondly, they enhance their resume, as many companies take candidate's activity on GitHub into consideration." He adds that open-source projects provide valuable experiences not only for juniors but for advanced professionals as well. They help to study the best practices, study the specifics of different projects and environments, build connections, and grow as a professional.
In the course of his career, Alexandr Hacicheant became a contributor to multiple open-source projects, such as Syft (a CLI tool and library for generating a Software Bill of Materials from container images and filesystems), Grype (a vulnerability scanner for Docker container images and filesystems), Predis (a flexible and feature-complete Redis client for PHP), as well as infrastructure projects, such as Docker-Compose, Codeception and Asynq. In addition, he maintains a popular Terraform provider for Pritunl VPN, which helps DevOps engineers build secure virtual private networks.
However, participating in open-source projects is not the only way to establish connections and become part of the community. There are also organizations that unite professionals across the world, supporting the exchange of ideas and professional development. For instance, he was recently accepted into the BCS fellowship, an organization that aims to unite the most influential professionals and tech leaders in the digital industry. In 2024, Alexandr Hacicheant became a Senior member of IEEE, a worldwide engineering and technology community. He is also a member of the Raptors.dev association, which is a guild of expert engineers known for a complicated entry process, when each candidate should be evaluated and approved by existing members, ensuring that all the members are top-notch specialists in their field. Alexandr adds that, along with participating in professional organizations similar to those mentioned above, it is also important to build internal communities within an organization, and he has participated in and organized multiple in-house events at Mayflower.
Finding the Work-Life Balance
While participating in open-source projects and learning continuously is necessary for the professional development of a software engineer, Alexandr Hacicheant highlights that establishing the right work-life balance is of equal importance for remaining productive in the long term. Along with research, coding, and acquiring new knowledge, the human brain needs time to digest and integrate new information, and this is why developers should not neglect rest, recuperation, and creative activities not related to work. "As a tech lead at Mayflower, I pay special attention to how the team members feel about their work," explains Alexandr Hacicheant. For instance, he ensured that software engineers and tech leads were provided with the necessary support regarding their mental health to prevent burnout and help every team member feel their value. This approach translates into an increase in productivity, which brings measurable benefits for the company in the form of stable growth and increasing profits.
Alexandr concludes that, as the competition in IT remains high, to become successful in such a demanding environment, one needs to remain curious and constantly expand their horizon, exploring new technologies and trying out creative solutions. This way, it becomes possible to become a developer who brings valuable contributions to the company and is valued as a professional.
