When AI Learns to Code: Why Mid-Level Engineers Face the Greatest Threat

The real AI casualty isn't the junior developer—it's the mid-level engineer whose job is converting tickets to pull requests. While economists might predict rising total software development (Jevons paradox), the composition of those roles will shift toward 'builders' with judgment and taste, not reliable executors. For mid-career engineers, this means the path forward requires developing harder-to-automate skills: architectural vision, product judgment, and knowing when to say no.