Is AI Making Coding Faster, But Making IT Harder? 7-year tech veteran's post sparks debate

A seven-year software professional took to Reddit to ask a question many tech workers may be aware of: what comes after a career in IT when keeping up with the industry becomes unbearable?

Why a seven-year IT veteran is considering quitting

In a post on the developer subreddit titled “Want to leave IT and do something else you suggest?”, the professional described growing burnout with constant upskilling, expanding responsibilities and management expectations. He also believed that since artificial intelligence entered the workplace, it has become increasingly difficult to accomplish all of this.

“I just want to get out of IT and do something else,” he wrote, explaining that the pace of technological change made it difficult to keep up.

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He also argued that expectations of individual responsibilities have blurred, with one person increasingly expected to handle work that would previously have been split between multiple roles.

The strain, he said, began to affect his life outside the office.

“Every day I wake up with a racing heart and feel like I should run away from work. Meetings, scrum calls, updates, deadlines and status calls make me anxious and it’s a daily thing. Working hours are almost 12 in reality and 9 on paper. I feel like my whole life is just work and nothing outside of it. I just rest on the weekends to recover and I don’t feel like I can go out and I don’t even feel like going out think about doing anything other than work,” he wrote, describing the anxiety of meetings, daily Scrum calls, updates, deadlines and status reports.

His weekends, he said, were largely spent recovering from the work week. Even taking time off was difficult as he struggled to think about non-work related activities.

“I’ve decided I don’t want to spend my life like this anymore because it’s suffocating,” he wrote, asking others if they had left IT and what alternative careers they would recommend.

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Other tech workers share similar concerns

The post drew responses from people who said they were experiencing similar pressures.

One commenter, who said he had eight years of experience in IT, wrote: “Same thing man. I’ve got 8 years of experience and I’m tired of fighting AI all the time and trying to upgrade.”

The commenter added that attempts to start a software business with a friend have repeatedly failed as AI capabilities have evolved. They said they might eventually explore other industries and expressed a desire to escape what they described as “the LinkedIn hustle and bustle trap.”

Others advised the original poster not to leave immediately. One suggested staying in IT for another two or three years to build financial security and ensure dependent family members had adequate health insurance before changing careers. They also recommended studying MTech and exploring university teaching.

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Another commenter pointed out that seven years of experience could open the door to managerial or business-oriented positions where technical knowledge remains valuable.

He wrote: “7 years of experience is quite a lot dude and you have invested so much in this industry… and it’s quite hard to get that much experience.. But there are many alternative career paths with that much experience that you can try and look for options like management or business oriented ones where people now need people with technical experience.”

Not everyone believed that changing jobs would solve the problem.

“There’s no way out in this economy, looks like you’re under bad management, usually just one particular person making things unbearable. You better find ways to deal with the stress. Keep interviewing.. it’s not like things will be different, it’ll probably be the same in a new job if you can get one. But at least you’ll get paid better. And who knows through which one you can quit, you might even adjust to the work environment. can’t run away,” one person wrote.

AI productivity comes with higher expectations

The concerns reflect a broader debate about how artificial intelligence is changing software development. HackerRank’s 2025 Developer Skills Report found that 67% of developers surveyed said AI has increased the pressure to work faster, compared to 84% of engineers who said it increased productivity expectations.

AI tools can make coding faster, but that doesn’t necessarily mean developers have less work to do. Reviewing generated code, fixing bugs, and learning unfamiliar tools can add responsibility, even if some tasks are speeded up.