Do junior devs still have a path to senior roles in an AI age?

AI assistants are now capable of doing what entry-level engineers used to do, and companies are reacting by cutting junior hiring and demanding higher output from the few who remain. LeadDev's AI Impact Report 2025 found 12% of respondents expect overall workforce reductions and 18% foresee fewer junior hires in the next year, while 54% say AI will lower junior hiring over the longer term. The same survey shows 37% anticipate heavier workloads for juniors and 39% expect faster turnaround expectations as AI embeds deeper in workflows.

Leaders like Meri Williams (CTO, Pleo) and Chirag Patel (VP, Hidden Brains) warn that treating AI assistants as junior developers erodes the pipeline for future senior engineers. Jeff Watkins (CTO, CreateFuture) notes that junior roles are becoming "AI-assisted," with designers at companies like Intercom already writing production code using AI-enhanced tools, blurring traditional handoff boundaries. He predicts pure front-end junior positions will become less attractive as AI handles HTML, CSS, and JavaScript tasks.

Mentoring is also under pressure: 38% of respondents say AI tools have reduced direct senior-to-junior mentoring, yet 27% see AI as a way to improve skill acquisition. Williams calls AI an "endlessly patient mentor," and Watkins envisions AI tutors providing real-time feedback, turning code reviews into continuous learning experiences.

The takeaway for technical leaders is clear: you must actively teach engineers how to work safely and effectively with AI. This means embedding AI tool training into onboarding, updating career development paths, and rethinking hiring strategies to balance automation benefits with the need for deep technical growth.