u/Big_Plum_9327

I used to think making someone answer a question before booking a call was bad.

Like, maybe they’ll leave. Maybe it adds friction.

But honestly, maybe that’s fine.

If one or two basic questions make someone disappear, they probably weren’t that serious anyway.

The better calls seem to come from people who can explain the problem at least a little.

Fewer calls. Less guessing. Better conversations.

I’m starting to think that’s the trade I actually want.

I heard a CEO claim that if he gives a 20-year-old AI tools and a clear product/design spec, that person could produce better results than a senior engineer with 6–7 years of experience.

I understand AI can make developers much faster, especially for prototyping, boilerplate, UI work, and debugging assistance.

But I feel like this view ignores what senior engineers actually do:

- catching bad requirements

- making architecture tradeoffs

- understanding legacy systems

- debugging ambiguous issues

- managing long-term maintainability

- knowing what not to build

For people working in tech, especially engineers: do you think this claim is realistic?

Could a junior with AI and a clear spec outperform a senior engineer, or is this management confusing code generation with software engineering?

I’ve been thinking about this because I keep seeing the same thing.

Someone wants to “jump on a quick call,” but they haven’t really said what they need yet.

Not even a full brief. Just the basics.

What’s the problem.
What are they trying to do.
Is this paid work or just advice.
Why does it need a call.

I don’t mind calls when there’s already some context.

But I’m starting to dislike giving someone a calendar slot just so they can explain their own problem for the first time out loud.

It feels backwards.

Do you usually let people book directly, or do you make them explain the situation first?