I wanted to share a few reflective thoughts on how software development has evolved and how AI specifically Claude has completely reshaped my workflow as a developer. Looking Back: The Era of StackOverflow and Copy-Pasting C Code I’ve loved computers since middle school. Back then, everyone online said, “You must learn C,” so I bought a massive C programming book and spent hours copying and pasting code I barely understood. Later, I majored in Computer Science. While I learned core fundamentals like OS and hardware, I always felt stuck in “study mode” because building a fully functional project from scratch demanded immense time and willpower. My first decent full-stack project was a web app built with Express.js and Pug that parsed a GitHub profile and turned repos into a portfolio resume. Designing the UI was painful. I remember sinking days into StackOverflow just trying to center a button or fix alignment issues. Purchasing a custom domain and using that project on my resume eventually helped me land jobs, but the struggle to get anything working was real. The Paradigm Shift: From Searching Apps to Building Custom Tools Comparing back then to today, we are living in a completely different world. In the past, if I needed a specific feature or utility, I searched for an existing app. Today, I prefer building it myself. With Claude helping me research open-source libraries and academic papers, I can spin up a working tool tailored to my exact needs in a day or two. Here are two recent examples that blew my mind: 3D Animation via Blender MCP & CLI: My 3D skills are minimal (I’ve only ever made the classic donut and coffee cup tutorial). Recently, I asked Claude to animate a 15-second walking sequence using a public Blender model of Juno from Overwatch via Blender MCP and CLI. The first output arrived in 20–30 minutes, but the walk cycle looked awkward. Instead of spending weeks on Reddit forums, I recalled Nvidia’s recent motion capture research (KIMODO) and asked Claude to integrate those data principles. The regenerated result improved dramatically. Tax Filing: As a US permanent resident running a business, my tax situation is fairly complex. I used TurboTax for years, but this year I used Claude to prepare my tax filings directly. When I handed the results to a certified CPA for verification, they found zero errors . Not only did it save money, but I also gained a much deeper understanding of tax mechanics. The Reality of Being a Developer Today I tend to give up easily if I don’t see fast progress. Having Claude rapidly validate MVPs has dramatically boosted my productivity and personal momentum. However, it is undeniably a tough era for software engineers. The job market is extremely competitive, and many of my laid-off friends are struggling to find work. Even running my own business, I’ve had to shut down dozens of projects due to fast-moving AI shifts. While I learned a lot in the process, losing time and capital still hurts. These days, instead of focusing solely on launching public-facing SaaS apps, I get the most fulfillment out of building hyper-specific tools for my personal workflow. Staying up to date with daily AI breakthroughs passively is impossible, but building interactively alongside Claude—evaluating tech stacks, licensing, and ideation—makes the process genuinely fun. Thoughts on Models & Subscriptions Claude remains my go-to assistant, though I’ve also been experimenting with Codex ($20/mo). I’m considering splitting my budget across different tiers or usage plans. While Fable feels like a benchmark leader and I rely heavily on Opus for complex logic, Codex’s high usage limits have let me iterate aggressively without running into walls. It’s hard to predict where AI is heading next. I remember how impressive Gemini was inside Cursor when it launched, and Google’s latest models are posting strong benchmarks (like 3.7), though I haven’t tested Antigravity yet. Despite the noise and minor bugs here and there, Claude has given me immense leverage and helped me build dozens of personal tools I use daily. I’m truly grateful for how far it’s brought my workflow. Curious to hear if others have shifted their focus from public SaaS to building internal/personal tooling as well! submitted by /u/writingdeveloper
Originally posted by u/writingdeveloper on r/ClaudeCode