This is an interesting question. I work with students (older teens/young adults) and they are dealing with similar issues. It seems like the world's expectations shifted very quickly under their feet.
I don't think anyone knows the answer. As a hiring manager, I definitely put less weight on generic CRUD apps etc nowadays. You can argue that people can actually just copy and paste from SO before, and that's true, but even with that you had to have some knowledge so integrate what you've copied. With AI assist, the process is orders of magnitude easier, as you can just re-try prompts etc.
What I look for instead is more information on the process of creation, which usually means examining their writing. How did they get the idea? how did they think about what features to build? But even this is not immune to AI contamination.
Overall, I think we're likely to move towards more reliance on verifiable longitudinal data rather than "spot checks". It's much more difficult/challenging to re-create for "portfolio cheaters", and easier for authentic applicants. I get my students to write a dev journal which I verify, and use that as part of a private portfolio that we can share with potential employers.
Overall, I'd say the vetting process is much more onerous on both sides and portfolios will now need proof-of-authenticity.
I think the opposite: it raises the value of personal portfolios, assuming the portfolios are actually good and representative to begin with. Most aren't, and those ones are likely to be of less value.
Partially, yes. If your portfolio is 5 small web applications or Python scripts that AI can make in half an hour, their weight as a “demonstration of skills” drops.So, the fact that you can do it manually is no longer impressive.
What becomes important now:
Architecture at scale — AI does not yet know all the nuances of large systems, distributed services, performance optimization, and security.
Business logic integration — understanding how the business actually works, where the pain points are, how users interact with the product.
Creativity and unique concepts — AI can create boilerplate, but it doesn't always understand that it is creating something fundamentally new.
Moral: AI takes away the “simple feats” but opens up new space for true engineering mavens. If you can do something that AI can’t easily replicate, your portfolio gets even cooler.
I agree, that would also require engineers to become more invested into core domain problems, which would then lead to more specialised skills (deeper, not broader). My guess is that not everyone actually likes this, but as for now most of the current state points to that direction.
Depends on what you show in your portfolio? I never understood devs that show half baked and simple web apps in their portfolios. What’s the point? To show your have commitment? To show that you have passion? Because those apps don’t usually show quality or challenging design topics.
Agreed. When I was involved on the interviewing side, it was not uncommon for applicants to prominently list their Github URL on their resume - only for it to be filled create-react-app web app tutorials. I'm not sure what kind of signal they're trying to send...
This is an interesting question. I work with students (older teens/young adults) and they are dealing with similar issues. It seems like the world's expectations shifted very quickly under their feet.
I don't think anyone knows the answer. As a hiring manager, I definitely put less weight on generic CRUD apps etc nowadays. You can argue that people can actually just copy and paste from SO before, and that's true, but even with that you had to have some knowledge so integrate what you've copied. With AI assist, the process is orders of magnitude easier, as you can just re-try prompts etc.
What I look for instead is more information on the process of creation, which usually means examining their writing. How did they get the idea? how did they think about what features to build? But even this is not immune to AI contamination.
Overall, I think we're likely to move towards more reliance on verifiable longitudinal data rather than "spot checks". It's much more difficult/challenging to re-create for "portfolio cheaters", and easier for authentic applicants. I get my students to write a dev journal which I verify, and use that as part of a private portfolio that we can share with potential employers.
Overall, I'd say the vetting process is much more onerous on both sides and portfolios will now need proof-of-authenticity.
I think the opposite: it raises the value of personal portfolios, assuming the portfolios are actually good and representative to begin with. Most aren't, and those ones are likely to be of less value.
>Is the value of a portfolio decreasing?
Partially, yes. If your portfolio is 5 small web applications or Python scripts that AI can make in half an hour, their weight as a “demonstration of skills” drops.So, the fact that you can do it manually is no longer impressive.
What becomes important now: Architecture at scale — AI does not yet know all the nuances of large systems, distributed services, performance optimization, and security.
Business logic integration — understanding how the business actually works, where the pain points are, how users interact with the product.
Creativity and unique concepts — AI can create boilerplate, but it doesn't always understand that it is creating something fundamentally new.
Moral: AI takes away the “simple feats” but opens up new space for true engineering mavens. If you can do something that AI can’t easily replicate, your portfolio gets even cooler.
> AI does not yet know all the nuances of large systems, distributed services, performance optimization, and security.
I'd say guess again. The chamber in the revolver of the russian roulette that is our careers just got infinitely larger, bets are off.
I agree, that would also require engineers to become more invested into core domain problems, which would then lead to more specialised skills (deeper, not broader). My guess is that not everyone actually likes this, but as for now most of the current state points to that direction.
I wonder whats business integration covers in personal portofolios looks like. As far as I know I only seen articles and self contained project.
Depends on what you show in your portfolio? I never understood devs that show half baked and simple web apps in their portfolios. What’s the point? To show your have commitment? To show that you have passion? Because those apps don’t usually show quality or challenging design topics.
I keep all my half baked apps to myself.
Agreed. When I was involved on the interviewing side, it was not uncommon for applicants to prominently list their Github URL on their resume - only for it to be filled create-react-app web app tutorials. I'm not sure what kind of signal they're trying to send...