In this video, I’m answering a question I keep seeing more and more: as a software engineer, do we still need to know how to code? Historically, coding has been the core of the job—software engineers built the tools and products that basically run everyday life. But now we’ve got a wave of “no-code” tools (think Shopify-style builders for websites and even apps), and it’s tempting to think coding won’t matter anymore. My take is simple: a lot of these tools exist because engineers are still writing the code underneath, and people who understand those underlying principles are going to be in a better position long-term. I also talk about the trap I fell into early in my career: copy-pasting fixes from Google/Stack Overflow without really understanding what I was doing. That approach breaks down fast when you need to expand features, scale, or maintain consistency—your codebase becomes a messy patchwork. Even with newer tools like ChatGPT or Copilot, you still have to make decisions, ask the right questions, and evaluate whether the output actually fits your situation. My bottom line: keep your coding foundation strong. It helps with architecture, styling consistency, collaboration, and especially code reviews (which people underestimate, but are huge at big tech). And if you’re looking at applied AI—whether you’re implementing algorithms or just integrating APIs—coding is still a foundational skill.