From Writing Code to Managing Agents. Most Engineers Aren't Ready | Stanford University, Mihail Eric

Emergence of AI Native Engineers00:00

There is emergence of a new class of engineer: the AI native engineer, where AI is the new language. This generation of junior developers entering the workforce will be the first of this shift. A single developer becomes a manager of agents. Adding more agents doesn't always create better systems; it can make worse systems if just let go to do whatever. Properly handling multiple agents is the last boss in a game; doing it well puts you in the top 0.1% of users today.

I'm Mihail Eric. I lead AI at an early-stage startup in San Francisco and teach a class at Stanford called The Modern Software Developer. It's the first class focused on AI across the SDLC. Within hours of announcement, it filled up with over 100 students trying to get in.

Challenges for Junior Software Engineers01:06

Huge momentum in software development with AI making its way into every part. Anecdote: Berkeley graduate applied to a thousand places, heard back from only two—not even interviews.

Three factors created a perfect storm in the software ecosystem:

• Around 2021, huge surge in hiring post-COVID; companies overhired, then massive layoffs reducing workforce by 20-30%.
• CS major graduates doubled or tripled nationally/internationally in last 10-15 years.
• AI became popular; employers consider hiring fewer AI native people to cover quotas.

This generation of junior engineers must have good fundamentals and be fully AI native.

How Top 1% AI Native Engineers Orchestrate Agents03:01