Zoho's Sridhar Vembu warns software engineer pay dominance won't last
What's the story
Sridhar Vembu, the co-founder of Zoho Corporation, has raised concerns over the future of software engineering jobs amid an impending productivity revolution. In a recent statement, he highlighted that while software engineers today earn more than those in other fields like mechanical engineering, civil engineering, chemistry, and education, this may not continue forever. Vembu stressed this is not a 'birthright' and should not be taken for granted.
AI disruption
Vembu warns about the impending productivity revolution
Vembu also warned of a productivity revolution that he believes is "coming to software development." Calling it "LLMs + tooling," he urged the industry to prepare for it. "This is sobering but necessary to internalize," he said, emphasizing that the industry should be aware of its vulnerability to disruption. Quoting Intel's Andy Grove, he said, "Only the paranoid survive," highlighting the need for vigilance in an era of rapid technological change.
Automation concerns
AI's role in coding and job security
The fear of job security in software development is further emphasized by the growing use of artificial intelligence in coding. Replit CEO Amjad Masad recently said that learning to code is becoming obsolete as AI rapidly advances toward fully automating coding tasks. He proposed problem-solving and creativity would still be valuable skills in an AI-driven world. This was echoed by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who predicted that within six months, AI could be generating up to 90% of all code.