As a science student and a coding aspirant, the education system had laid out a clear roadmap for me – a roadmap whose complexity eventually led me to choose journalism as a viable career option. The coding formula preached to us included some basic coding discipline – memorise the syntax, practice standard data structures, master the boilerplate loops of popular frameworks, and type as fast as possible! There was no space to accommodate the broader vision or the endgame as to “what are we coding for?”
However, the arrival of generative AI changed the core concept of coding, especially with ‘vibe coding‘ – a model where AI handles the heavy lifting of code generation, allowing coders to construct more complex systems by offloading the basic repetitive stuff to the AI.
Vibe coding changed the core concept of coding. In an era where AI translates abstract ideas into production-grade software in a few minutes, the metric for coding competence is no longer how fast you type lines of code, but how deeply you plan it.
“The biggest shift is that intent has become the primary unit of work, not syntax. A year ago, a developer’s day was spent translating an idea into code, i.e. choosing the framework, wiring up the boilerplate, and debugging the plumbing. Today, that translation layer is increasingly handled by AI,” says Deepak Dhanak, Co-Founder and COO, Rocket – a vibe coding platform that has scaled to 1.5 million users across more than 185 countries.
While having a conversation with Financial Express Online, Dhanak says that the developer’s role has fundamentally moved up the stack. While a developer’s time at the keyboard has not vanished, the “thinking-to-typing ratio has flipped.” With vibe coding, the developers gaining the maximum leverage are not the ones who orchestrate the fastest prompts, but they are the ones who can describe a problem precisely and hold a sharp definition of what an optimised product looks like.
First-gen vibe coding still struggles with legacy systems
For computer engineering students eager to enter the market, vibe coding presents an unprecedented equaliser, believes Dhanak. Previously, launching a minimum viable product (MVP) or a functional prototype required a small engineering team and several weeks of iterative development.
Today, a single student with a clear idea can ship a high-fidelity, production-grade application in an afternoon.
However, industry experts warn that this rapid acceleration is creating a deceptive gap in student readiness. While building prototypes has become trivial, the real test lies in what happens next – a challenge that Dhanak labels the “day two” question.
“Where the conversation gets more honest is on the ‘day two’ question: can this code be maintained, scaled, secured, and integrated with legacy systems? That’s where a lot of first-generation vibe coding tools are struggling,” says Dhanak.
“Quality, in our view, is measured at month six, not minute six,” he added.
This distinction is crucial for the millions of coding students across India. While AI can instantly create code that looks flawless on the surface, long-term software viability requires rigorous human evaluation. Enterprises do not just need code that compiles today. Instead, they require engineering that can survive six months of scaling, security audits, and legacy integration. This is where human engineers will always be required.
Will entry-level jobs shrink?
A common anxiety echoing through Indian engineering campuses is whether vibe coding will eliminate entry-level developer jobs, especially as non-technical operators and product managers learn to build functional apps independently.
Market signals, however, suggest a more nuanced transformation, i.e., the traditional role is shifting, not shrinking.
Rather than a zero-sum game, Dhanak says that AI is driving up the demand for software globally by lowering entry barriers. For instance, a founder in a tier-2 Indian city who previously could not afford a six-person engineering team can now leverage vibe coding to ship a product. Once that product gains traction in the market, they subsequently hire formal engineers to handle scale, architecture, and security.
The focus is now on repetitive scaffolding and boilerplate wiring – automating functions that do not need constant decision-making. Additionally, macro-level system design, security protocols, performance tuning, and technical judgment are increasingly becoming valuable. Students who proactively lean into this shift are finding themselves more in demand.
The 3-step playbook for modern coding students
To remain highly competitive and relevant in an ecosystem dictated by vibe coding, Dhanak counsels students to change their focus toward three core pillars:
– Ditch syntax memorisation, master systems: Stop optimising for memorising syntax, as the AI will always win that race. Instead, optimise to understand systems, i.e., how data flows, how microservices communicate, and how a seemingly minor decision early in system design creates major architectural bottlenecks later.
– Develop taste and judgment: The absolute most valuable skill in an AI-assisted world is technical taste. This means being able to critically evaluate a generated output and judge whether it is genuinely secure and robust. This skill cannot be bypassed, since it comes from reading substantial amounts of code, shipping real-world products, and getting bruised by your own bugs.
– Build and ship constantly: The absolute bar for “I’ve built something” has never been lower, and the reward for doing so has never been higher. Thriving students will be those who use vibe coding tools to ship five real, live projects while their peers are still stuck finishing basic syntax tutorials.
And vibe coding isn’t limited to IT hubs
Because vibe coding platforms eradicate localised resource constraints, global SaaS products are beginning to emerge from unexpected parts of the country. On a geographic scale, this paradigm shift is set to democratise coding advances to cities and towns far beyond traditional Indian tech hubs like Bengaluru or Hyderabad.
Dhanak says that as Indian enterprises leverage these advanced tools to leapfrog legacy IT cycles, the next generation of IT engineers will be defined by their strategic foresight, not raw coding skills.
As for my story, had vibe coding existed back in 2011, my career path could have been entirely different. But you have vibe coding at your disposal, and it’s not taking away entry-level jobs, just changing the way you think.