It's not hard for me to see the writing on the wall for my own profession, especially for lower performers.
I've had good relationships with the engineers I've partnered with on projects. Generally I just try to stay out of their way, enable them to make their own decisions instead of being some kind of task master. I've also tried to prevent external groups from bothering them, remove blockers ahead of time or as quickly as possible if needed. The most tiring part of the job for me is the politics, but that is like... what I get paid to deal with and shield folks from in my view.
I think if AI related tooling is integrated effectively, then the need for compiling and sharing information on a project gets reduced significantly (if not eliminated outright).
Maybe fewer project managers will be needed (if any). That's probably a good thing honestly. There's a lot of project managers out there that are pretty terrible. (maybe even me sometimes!)
I'm doing some serious soul searching on whether to leave the profession entirely after 12 years, or whether to stick with it. Open to suggestions.
idontwantthis•48m ago
ferociousmadman•41m ago
But nearly all of that is done online (at least for me) since folks are in different nations and work across time zones. I guess you're right to point out that aspects are complex, assuming that people remain involved to the extent they are currently.
There's also a large portion of the work (status updates, reporting, etc.) that could be automated though in my view. For me and other PMs I know, that's like at least 40% or more of the work.
idontwantthis•37m ago
I don't see AI on track to manage politics in any way shape or form. It is far too easily manipulated.
Do you have this fear because of actual things you observe at your job, or because of online discourse? I read about this attitude online all the time, but it doesn't make any sense to me personally.
ferociousmadman•33m ago
Regarding the politics part I also agree with you, I just wonder how much time that will take and if as many PMs will be needed.
In terms of your key question there at the end, I haven't been seeing massive layoffs or enough changes just yet. Right now I'm inbetween jobs because I had to quit my old job in December in order to move to another country (long story). I read about it online too, and have noticed hiring slowing down, but that may just be the economy or the fact that certain capex is so expensive right now.
For me, it's not easy to tell how things will develop with these technologies over time, so I was curious to hear folks' perspective here. Especially from an engineering stand point.
idontwantthis•20m ago