A software engineer with nearly a decade of professional experience has raised an uncomfortable question about the future of work: what happens when the technology professionals build becomes capable of doing their jobs?
In a Reddit post titled “I’m tired, boss”, published on October 24, 2026, the engineer described feeling overwhelmed by the pace of artificial intelligence development. He said he was seriously considering farming or growing his own food because he feared that conventional employment opportunities might become scarce over the next five to ten years.
His concern was not simply that AI could write code. Until recently, he believed experienced software engineers would remain indispensable because machines could not independently design complex systems. He now believes AI tools are increasingly capable of performing those tasks, sometimes more effectively than humans.
The post struck a nerve among technology professionals. Beneath the engineer’s personal frustration lies a larger economic question: is artificial intelligence becoming a productivity tool, or is it gradually undermining the employment model that built India’s technology industry?
From coding assistance to workforce disruption
For decades, India’s information technology industry expanded by supplying skilled engineers, programmers, testers and technical support personnel to businesses worldwide. Large IT companies recruited graduates in substantial numbers, trained them and assigned progressively more complex responsibilities as they gained experience.
Generative AI is challenging this model by automating activities that once required considerable human effort. AI systems can generate code, identify software bugs, prepare documentation, analyse data and assist with system design. More advanced tools can also coordinate multiple stages of software development.
For employers, the attraction is straightforward: faster delivery, lower costs and potentially higher productivity.
For employees, however, the implications are less reassuring. If a smaller team equipped with AI can complete work previously performed by a much larger team, companies may have less incentive to recruit additional workers.
The immediate consequence may not always be mass layoffs. It could instead take the form of fewer vacancies, slower recruitment and increasingly demanding selection criteria.
India’s fresh graduates face a difficult transition
The greatest pressure could fall on young professionals attempting to enter the industry.
A report published by Channel NewsAsia on October 27, 2026, highlighted how India’s technology companies are recruiting fewer fresh graduates as AI changes the skills employers demand. Routine coding, testing and documentation have traditionally provided opportunities for inexperienced workers to develop practical expertise. Automating these tasks threatens to weaken that entry-level training pathway.
This creates a potential contradiction. Companies want experienced engineers who can manage AI systems, evaluate their output and solve complicated business problems. Yet those engineers must first acquire experience somewhere.
If employers increasingly expect graduates to arrive with advanced technical knowledge, practical project experience and AI expertise, candidates from less-resourced educational institutions could find themselves at a disadvantage.
The challenge, therefore, extends beyond teaching students how to use AI tools. Universities and employers must reconsider how young people acquire the professional judgement that once developed through years of routine assignments.
Will AI destroy the IT industry?
The evidence does not support the conclusion that the entire industry will disappear within five to ten years.
Software remains essential to banking, healthcare, manufacturing, telecommunications, government services and countless other sectors. AI systems themselves require infrastructure, integration, maintenance, cybersecurity and human oversight.
Demand is also shifting towards specialised capabilities, including AI engineering, data infrastructure, cybersecurity and the integration of intelligent systems into business operations.
Nevertheless, the transition may be painful. A growing industry does not necessarily mean that every occupation within it will grow. Companies could generate more revenue while employing fewer people for particular categories of work.
A Reuters report published in February 2026 quoted Wipro’s technology leadership describing AI as an opportunity for IT services, while acknowledging the transformation of the industry’s traditional labour-intensive business model. The central question is whether technology companies can create valuable new services quickly enough to offset the pressure on conventional roles.
Is farming the answer?
The engineer’s consideration of farming captures a desire for greater security and independence in an increasingly uncertain professional environment. But agriculture is not an easy escape route. It requires land or access to it, capital, knowledge, physical labour and the ability to manage weather, markets and production risks.
Abandoning a technology career solely because of predictions about AI could therefore be as premature as assuming that existing jobs will remain unchanged indefinitely.
A more practical response is to reassess skills, experiment with AI-assisted workflows and develop expertise in areas where technical judgement, accountability and an understanding of real-world problems remain valuable.
Governments and employers also have responsibilities. Productivity gains should support workforce development rather than leave workers to manage technological disruption entirely on their own.
The real warning behind the engineer’s frustration
The engineer’s prediction that jobs may largely disappear within five to ten years remains speculative. His anxiety, however, reflects a genuine challenge facing the global workforce.
Artificial intelligence does not need to eliminate every software engineering position to transform the labour market profoundly. It may be enough to reduce the number of people needed for routine tasks, narrow entry-level opportunities and force existing employees to continually update their skills.
For India, the stakes are particularly high because technology services have provided employment, export earnings and upward mobility for millions of people.
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