Thread regarding SAS Institute layoffs

AI is not the only driver of change in software development. Outsourcing continues.

Some SAS developers cannot code as well as AIs -- or as well as developers in other countries.

Either way, SAS developers must increase their skills, or find a different profession.

@15c
“My prediction: Before too long, many of those who whined constantly about how their $150k/year salary was so pathetically small will realize just how good they had it.”

So true.

I proudly work 99 hours a day for 20k/year. It’s totally worth it just to be around people like you.

My prediction: Before too long, many of those who whined constantly about how their $150k/year salary was so pathetically small will realize just how good they had it.

Important, if what you do for a living is going away:

'Developers who rely purely on mechanical code generation face an "extinction event".'

One day soon, private equity will buy SAS, put it in maintenance mode, and send most of that maintenance overseas.

SAS developers in the US will need jobs. But for those who can only write code, their job will no longer be available.

Not important

Serious question: What percentage of SAS developers can write code as well as the AIs?

My estimate: ~50% of SAS developers face an "extinction event".

@ft serious question: were you more worried about the mind control nano bots from bill gates or the autism?

‘The article frames AI not as the end of software engineering, but as a filter. Developers who rely purely on mechanical code generation face an "extinction event."’

SAS made no distinction between software engineers and coders. Coders must either become engineers or find a different livelihood.

@ft “ President Biden's husband Joe”. That was so clever. Well done buddy. You are such a big boy.

@bj "there's less opportunity due to weak worker protections during a Republican administration"

As opposed to President Biden's husband Joe who tried to fire everybody did not agree to be jabbed?

Isn't it too early for her to claim to have survived AI?

Speaking of AI -- even if one has no account, Gemini gives a detailed summary:

1. The Four "Tech Extinctions" (2002 – Present)

• The Post-Dot-Com / Web Transition (Early 2000s): Transitioning from legacy desktop/monolithic setups to web standards and dynamic web applications.

• The Mobile & Cloud Shift (Late 2000s – 2010s): The shift from self-managed servers and desktop-first software to AWS/cloud architecture and mobile app ecosystems.

• The Microservices & DevOps Era (Mid-to-Late 2010s): Moving away from monolithic codebases toward containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), distributed systems, and continuous delivery.

• The AI & Agentic Era (Current): The rapid shift from manual coding and syntax fluency to prompt-driven development, AI coding assistants, and autonomous dev agents.

1. Core Arguments

• Implementation Fluency Is No Longer the Bottleneck:
 In past eras, a developer's value often came from memorizing frameworks, writing complex syntax from scratch, or knowing intricate configuration steps. AI tools have collapsed the cost of generating initial implementations, rendering pure "coding speed" cheap.

• Activity vs. Real Value:
 With AI generating higher code volume at faster speeds, the risk shifts toward shipping code that solves technical steps while missing broader architectural context or business constraints (e.g., handling subtle edge cases, data staleness, or network timeouts).

• The Evolution of the Developer's Role:
 Rather than writing boilerplate or line-by-line code, the modern developer's role is shifting toward supervision, architecture, system design, and critical judgment. The focus shifts from "How fast can I type this solution?" to "Why are we building this, and what breaks when it runs in production?"

• Adaptability Over Specialization:
 Just like previous shifts (desktop to web, monoliths to cloud), those who survive aren't the ones who resist new tools or rely solely on legacy mechanics, but those who leverage the new tools to focus on higher-level problem-solving and domain mastery.

Conclusion

The article frames AI not as the end of software engineering, but as a filter. Developers who rely purely on mechanical code generation face an "extinction event", whereas engineers who focus on system design, critical inquiry, and business reasoning will continue to thrive in the AI era.

@bb

And your thinking here is that those "tech adjacent and especially devs" are unaware of the potential impact on their jobs or, to be more specific, their jobs at SAS? So much so that they need yet another reminder in a forum about SAS layoffs? They must not be very good "tech adjacent and especially devs". They must be kind of stupid, actually. That's the opposite of what you'd want in "tech adjacent and especially devs".

You know what else is "related to virtually everyone tech adjacent and especially devs"? Fuel prices are through the roof, there's less opportunity due to weak worker protections during a Republican administration, offshoring dilutes the value of American labor, the purpose of the H1-B visa program has slowly transitioned from bringing workers to America in under-represented fields and specializations to suppressing wages for American workers... Do we talk about those things here as well, or should we just stick to Facebook and Twitter for all that? Should you? Probably.

It’s related to virtually everyone tech adjacent and especially devs.

@OP

In what way is this related to SAS?

Bummer .. sounds interesting but I'm not signing up to read it.