I don't understand why you're looking for a job Andy? Make something man and sell it.
I hear you mate, but the harsh reality is that that ship has long sailed unfortunately. To
properly develop something worthwhile, once you have an idea you want to run with, takes so much time. By
properly, I mean fully scoped and planned, taking full responsibility for every aspect of it, and knowing how it works so that - when it does fail (because it will) - I know I can understand and fix it. I don't have the reserves to do that. Software is fast becoming seen as a "free" thing. Why buy something that has had decades of effort poured into it from teams of hundreds or thousands when Tommy from the next street over can knock it up in 3 weeks with a couple of grand of AI tokens? Basically, it is becoming a race of who can bring their ripped-off crap to market first, sell it, hope it doesn't break and/or require maintenance, and then let it rot for future AI models to learn from.
Trying to rise above the AI-slop (I actually hate that term) is impossible; we are already at saturation point. Past it. It was difficult enough 10 years ago trying to get a game or project to stand out in the market place. Now, it is impossible. For the scale I work at and the projects and knowledge I have, anything I tend to undertake comes with a pretty heavy cost in terms of time investment and planning. If I go with smaller "throwaway" projects, they don't get seen. They are swamped by a million other AI-clones or wannabe products. Trying to find that killer idea, keeping it hush whilst developing it, and then launching it to a (hopefully) eager market is a lottery win level of hope these days.
Again, I do hear you and appreciate what you are saying mate. My outburst isn't aimed at you of course. I am just stuck at the bottom of a hole for the first time after being "successful" (through hard work) all my life. I just don't feel I can win this one. The difference is, everything I have worked for and enjoy is now at risk almost overnight! I built up a safety net for lean times, but that is dropping at a rate of knots. Ah, s**t happens.
The rapidity at which AI has taken over is unprecedented and "damage" has already been done. There is no going back on this now. The fact that Microsoft are looking to offer 60,000 of its staff (27% of its workforce) redundancy buyouts so they can streamline their operations and rely more on AI. That speaks volumes. I love the fact that they are offering to help those (who take the offer) look for alternative work... although I have no idea where. It's like the company (I forget the name) that recently reduced their engineering teams by letting go off a few thousand staff; here you go, 3 months pay and a free laptop. Nice of them to provide the cushion before pushing them off the cliff. Yeah, I am bitter - but there are so many in so many industries that are right in the firing line.
My military/defence-inspired
Project: OPFRAME is getting a fair bit of interest from the likes of Qinetiq, Thales, and various US-defence start-ups. The US is throwing silly money at defence programmes and start-ups right now. But trying to break into that and get a little slice of the pie is fraught and incredibly difficult. At least as a flying-solo software engineer with a smaller-than-small Limited business.
Cheers buddy, luffs ya man.
I’d say that’s even more difficult the markets flooded with vibe coded programs atm.
Lots of companies seem to be plowing money into software where there no customers for it.
Not sure if you’ve already spoken to them Andy but the Welsh government innovation funding basically pays for our R&D department wage bill with yearly grants. They are usually scored on job creation but that can be offering work experience/going into schools etc.
The other one would be DSTL tenders if you’ve got a defence background.
The level of technical debt being built right now is staggering, terrifying, unprecedented. I don't even have the words mate. Humans are "lazy" and not wired to work at the levels AI can generate stuff (of course, I know you are fully aware of all this!) It feels very much like a FOMO market. Our competitor is doing it... so we must do it, but more so. There isn't necessarily an identified need, or enough of a ring fence/guardrails around employee use of the technology. Not from what I am seeing and hearing. Crazy.
I haven't spoken to the Welsh Government mate, so thanks for the recommendation. I will certainly approach them and see if there is anything they or I can potentially do. Thank you.
I am currently talking to past colleagues and friends in defence who are currently bidding for grants from the MOD for various projects and programmes (mostly C-UAV stuff). Sadly, my security clearance has now lapsed too and the pool of jobs has lessened further still. So many of the roles I see require active/held SC, DV or eDV and I no longer have that. I would need a full-vetting by a sponsor. It is crazy and frustrating that, as a bona-fide business with a long proven record, I cannot apply for and fund vetting myself. I am relying on a client/employer to have enough faith to hopefully pay me a decent amount having spent weeks or months (depending on the clearance needed) to go through vetting which also costs
them several thousands... bonkers.
I have 11 emails in front of me right now and all have rejected me because I don't hold active clearance (it lapsed 5 weeks ago, or my period of easy-eligibility and transfer lapsed).
Thanks mate
This will be a big problem going forward, and sadly business won't realise a big reason they paid another company for software was because when everything falls apart you know someone will be along to fix it.
When AI makes it all, will AI be able to fix it when it falls apart?
I think we will hit a succession of
sh*t-hitting the fan incidents at some point. I mean, we already have to be fair. What lurks just below the surface at this very moment in time is more than a little worrying given what I have seen and experienced. Business largely only seem interested in the here and now and 2/5/10 years down the line can
get ta f*ck. You can't work like that, not in defence, civil protection. Well, any larger business really. Something is going to come back and bite hard. Very hard.
All the best fella.
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Believe it or not, I am not against or anti-AI. But I am very much against how it is being used, leveraged and adopted. "For the good of humanity" my ass.
(Apologies, rant over!)
