AI Is Erasing the Grunt Work That Trained Junior Developers

A widely shared essay by developer Asael Shinder argues that AI tools are automating the repetitive, low-level tasks that historically taught junior engineers core problem-solving instincts. Tasks like debugging obscure errors, writing test suites, and fixing configurations by trial and error formed an informal apprenticeship that new developers no longer experience by default. Shinder warns that juniors today are instead handed AI-generated output to review — a skill that itself requires the instincts only hands-on struggle can build. He calls on senior engineers to deliberately assign challenging work, encourage independent debugging, and make clear that the difficulty is intentional and instructive. Without such intervention, he cautions, the industry risks producing a generation that can generate code at scale but lacks the judgment to verify it.