Coding is getting cheaper and so are programmers

There has been a surge in the number of AI coding assistants over the past two years. OpenAI’s competitors have introduced popular generative AI development tools such as GitHub Copilot and Anthropic’s Claude. The rise of such AI coding assistants has changed the way developers work, and the future of coding depends on its affordability and productivity. Additionally, the rapid growth in the use of low-code and no-code tools is changing the landscape.

Many development tools, such as GUI Tower Git, cost between $69 and $99 per user per year. This is a relatively small investment compared to developers’ salaries. Other tools are often free or open source, making them available at no direct cost.

In the US, programmers earn between $40,000 and $150,000 per year, depending on experience and specialization, and the average salary is around $89,190 per year. In India, salaries range from INR 1.2 lakh to INR 13 lakh per year, and full-time developers typically cost companies between $10,000 and $25,000 per year, depending on experience.

Moreover, investing in these tools can lead to significant increases in productivity, quickly offsetting their costs. For example, if a tool saves even a few minutes of a developer’s time or helps prevent bugs, it can easily justify its price compared to the developer’s salary. The economic case for investing in software tools is strong; the costs are low compared to the potential productivity gains and software quality improvements they provide.

Subhojit Mondal, founder of SACHI, a talent consultancy, notes that these tools will enable more people to build software without traditional coding skills, fundamentally changing the job market.

Observing a clear segmentation among job seekers over the past three years into below-average, average and exceptional, Mondal notes that exceptional candidates are able to secure significant salary increases. Once again, this is happening in the context of the Covid-19 crisis and the rise of startup funding disrupting the labor market. However, he believes that candidates at the beginning of their careers have difficulty breaking into the market.

Sumit Mansinghani, 29, senior data scientist at PepsiCo, shared similar views and said we are approaching a tipping point. He notes that while wages have indeed increased, they are approaching a saturation point and continued economic pressure will inhibit future increases.

“A drastic increase of 100% to 200% is unsustainable and will likely return to a more manageable 30% to 40% as market conditions stabilize,” he noted.

As artificial intelligence continues to improve coding processes, you can expect software development to become cheaper and the job market for developers to evolve, creating a more accessible environment for talent, albeit at lower price points.

Moreover, using AI for coding can help bridge the experience gap between junior and senior developers, as progress typically requires years of experience and personal projects.

AI coding has drawbacks

Tech giants are relying on developers to improve the appeal of their platforms, while non-tech company leaders are seeking more developers to drive digital transformation in hopes of increasing productivity and attracting consumers.

“Coding is also full of feedback loops and tests that make sure the software is working correctly,” noted Nathan Benaich of Air Street Capital.

According to PitchBook, the development of AI coding tools has accelerated, with around 250 startups creating them. While leading tech companies are at the forefront, according to a GitHub survey, more than 97% of 2,000 respondents from the US, Brazil, Germany and India said they use AI coding tools at work. GitHub, which is owned by Microsoft, launched Copilot in 2022, which generates code on demand and has 2 million paying users.

Additionally, a study analyzing data from Microsoft, Accenture and an unnamed Fortune 100 electronics manufacturer found that AI generative code suggestion tools can increase developer productivity by 26%.

The usefulness of AI in coding remains somewhat limited. A survey by Evans Data found that 35% of developers said AI tools save only 10-20% of their time, mainly by generating core code. However, these tools are not flawless. A study by GitClear revealed a decline in code quality over the past year, potentially caused by the use of artificial intelligence models. Additionally, a survey by Synk found that more than half of organizations have identified security issues in AI-generated code.

Although there is no standard definition, GitHub users from poorer countries outnumbered those from richer countries. Online forums like Stack Overflow contain huge archives of questions and answers shared by developers.

Programmers may be generational AI advocates or people who have lost their jobs

Whenever a new technology appears, the immediate problem is job loss. Historically, while some jobs disappear, new ones emerge. The same debate is raging in the world of generative AI, although this time the impact may be different.

Many industry experts interviewed OBJECTIVE they believe that generative AI will increase productivity and make an organization’s workforce more efficient. However, in a 2023 interview AtlanticOpenAI CEO Sam Altman said: “Many people working on artificial intelligence pretend that everything will be fine; it will only be an addition; and no one will ever be replaced,” he continued. “There are definitely going to be jobs gone, period.”

Surprisingly, Altman is not the only CEO of a large generative AI company to predict job losses due to AI. Back then, Emad Mostaque, CEO of Stability AI, said in a call with UBS analysts that AI could put most of India’s freelance developers out of work.

ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI’s GPT models, has impressive coding capabilities once you pass the Google Level 3 interview. Trained in the amount of code written by humans, LLMs can generate code much faster, potentially displacing core programming tasks.

Natarajan Radhakrishnan, president and CIO at Hinduja Global Solutions, believes that AI will not completely take away coding jobs: “Indeed, the lower end of coding can be replaced not only in India but across the world,” he said . OBJECTIVE.

According to Anurag Sahay, managing director of AI and data science at Nagarro, with the rise of generative AI, lower-level coding tasks have lost their value as LLM students can easily generate code, making such tasks unnecessary. “Programmers and engineers will need to demonstrate two important value propositions – the ability to design complex systems and the ability to quickly leverage the LLM to create digital assets,” he said.