I became an engineer by profession in 2019. I had been doing web production and data-related work before then, though, It's only in the last six or seven years that I've started to be called an 'engineer' in earnest.
The first thing that surprised me when I became a member was, The "freedom" of the people inside. They couldn't get up in the morning, forgot to go to meetings, didn't show up on time. These are things you don't often see in other professions, but here they were the order of the day. But work still gets done. Google's benefits package includes lunch and long holidays. I thought it was a really blessed profession.
But that's why I think we have a 'duty to engineer'. Because right now, the world is starting to turn on a dime. With the advent of AI, mass layoffs have become a reality. In Japan, it is often in the form of termination of employment, The root is the same. AI is erasing human 'unevenness'. AI is relentlessly filling in the gaps in our ability to get up in the morning, or to concentrate. AI is relentlessly filling in the gaps.
It is already clear from Claude Code and Cursor. They move faster, more evenly and without rest than humans. That's why engineers know that, 996 culture of over-working. No one can blame them. But the only thing that is certain is that it does not lead to human happiness.
In terms of overall salary levels, engineers are still well off. It is still a well-paid job if you are aiming for economic arbitrage. However, that is not the same as 'happiness'.
The old engineering culture-- The days when you could code all night and laugh with your mates, AI has already destroyed them. What remains now is a quiet void of people standing on the other side of efficiency.
How do we fill that void? I think that is the job of engineers in the future.