Senior Engineers Are the Next DRAM Shortage

AI agents are absorbing entry-level work, so companies are quietly stopping junior hiring—and with it, the on-the-job training pipeline that produces senior engineers. The author warns this will trigger a supply crunch where senior comp spikes like DRAM prices, and the only hedge is to grow your own now. A Thoughtworks retreat already labeled this an “apprenticeship and skills-transmission crisis.”

Why it matters: Opinion piece, but it surfaces an overlooked second-order effect: AI agents taking junior work breaks the on-the-job training pipeline that produces senior engineers. Thoughtworks has labeled this an 'apprenticeship crisis' in a closed-door meeting — that's a concrete source. ...