This is a question I’ve been wrestling with for a while—and at some point, I realized I’d already fallen into the trap myself. The AI trap. It’s one of the biggest reasons so many programmers, YouTube coders, and young startups eventually give up on learning, teaching, or even building.
I’m guilty too. I nearly broke my neck from the fall when I first tried tools like Windsurf. You just type what you need in plain English, wait while it generates the code, and every now and then it asks you to approve a feature or a README description. In fifteen minutes, I built something that would have taken me days, maybe weeks, to craft by hand.
So why bother anymore? Why sit down for hours writing an application from scratch—whether for practice, for teaching, or for your colleagues—when the machine can do it in a fraction of the time?
There was a feeling of pride in writing it yourself. Not completely pure pride, since we all used Stack Overflow, trading knowledge with other devs, learning and sharing in the process. That was before ChatGPT, at least. Back then, showing your friends a small app you made to remind you of birthdays or send SMS alerts felt like something. Now? With ChatGPT, Windsurf, Cursor… not so much.
And let’s be honest—how much money is really in it? Do you make a fortune as a software engineer, a programming tutor, or a network architect? Some do. Many don’t. My YouTube channel has 40,000 subs, but views have dropped hard. I barely make $100 a month from it now. Sure, others might pull in $500 to $10K, but is it worth it? And was money ever the reason you started?
Here’s where I stand: programming (not just coding—two very different things) isn’t dead, no matter how many times you’ve heard that over the last couple of years. What’s true is that AI is now a core part of software engineering. The trick is not to depend on it blindly, but to work with it. Partner with the tools. Don’t make them build everything from A to Z. Treat them like an apprentice. Show them what you want to achieve in a code block, or ask them to add something you don’t know how to execute yet. That’s the sweet spot.
In the video, I share the views of Nick White, a programming YouTuber who quit coding. For the most part, I agree with his reasons. I’ve dropped hints here and there about my own views on programming tutoring, but I haven’t spoken openly—at least not yet.
So what do you think?
You can reach me on X >>> https://x.com/bekbrace
Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this.