Forever Junior: The Skills AI Can't Develop for You

A junior software engineer at Criteo argues that while AI tools are transforming software engineering work, they risk creating a generation of "forever Juniors" unable to develop into senior engineers if they rely on AI agents to do their learning for them. By studying what distinguishes senior engineers—such as defending design choices, knowing when to delegate, and mentoring others—the author outlines a deliberate strategy to develop skills that AI cannot automate, recognizing that the real gap lies not in tool capability but in human development.