The demise of my blue collar coding career
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I used to consider software programming a "white collar" occupation.
- Air conditioned office.
- Regular office hours.
- University degree.
- Business attire.
- No dirt and grime.
- Soft hands.
- Non-physically demanding.
(I'm conflating the concept of a professional/administrative work with office based work. But I'm also dividing the entire workforce into two collar-color categories, so... 🤷🏻♂️)
A few years back it occurred to me that all these aspects I took to signify a white collar existence were just window dressing.
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Looking at the nuts and bolts of the majority of my work, I realized my daily activities had more in common with blue collar tradesmen than professional or administrative workers.
Coding is skilled manual work.
Products are built by hand using hard-won expertise and a knowledge of tools and techniques.
Jobs are priced by the labor units consumed.
In a practical sense, writing code is an exercise in stacking bricks. Digital bricks of all shapes and size, using virtual mortar that comes in many forms. Yes, there is skill and technique (and maybe even mathematics) involved. But I don't see that as being any different from building a solid wall in the real world.
Classing myself as a blue collar worker bothered me not in the least. I'm a builder and tinkerer. I love doing things with my hands. I'm not the only software guy with who is 'handy'. I've rarely met a coder who wasn't also into some form of manual arts - welding, woodworking, electronics, machining, laser cutting. It seems to come with the territory.
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My blue collar coding career is dead.
There are still blue collar coders. I'm just no longer one of them (because they are not human).
The new workforce (AI agents) is better, quicker, and cheaper than I could ever be.
Don't feel sorry for me. I no longer stack bricks. I manage agents. It seems I finally am what I thought I was: a white collar worker.
And I'm fine with that. The joy of coding is not about stacking bricks. It's about imagining something that doesn't exist, and finding a way to bring it into existence. Manually stacking code bricks well is skill you can take great pride in, but ultimately it's the quality of the final construction that matters.
Perhaps other blue collar coders won't feel that way. Maybe there are those whose satisfaction is entirely about manually assembling the code blocks. For them I am sorry. I hope they find a niche in the agentic AI world.
One of the reasons agentic coding doesn't bother me is that I like management. I like systems and processes. I like building them, and refining them. I like finding ways of helping people perform to their potential, and harnessing that energy to create teams that perform. Being a white collar coder is exactly that, it's just the "people" you're managing are AI agents.
As I write this I am watching a couple of them on the other screen. Naughty little buggers. Always trying to pull a fast one, or cut corners. A lot like humans really.
I'll miss my blue collar job. Or I would if I had time. I'm too busy trying to figure out how I can get these agents to take over my managerial role as well...