The Rise of Creators — Writing Code

More and more creators are now writing a bit of code to help optimize and speed up their production workflows.

These creators know exactly where their bottlenecks lie. Driven by the desire to spend more time actually creating, their motivation and thirst for knowledge can sometimes burn even brighter than an engineer’s drive for self-learning. They might even pinpoint solutions more accurately than engineers can.

Reading documentation, calling an API, and building simple apps for day-to-day tasks don’t require heavy engineering chops. With just a basic foundation in programming, anyone can pick them up with ease.

This got me thinking: as an engineer, how do you stand your ground in this new reality?

When creators use the same programming language and libraries to solve the exact same problem, their code might be a bit messy, but they often have an edge over you in identifying the root issue and finding a practical solution. Of course, I know that areas like system architecture, software engineering practices, high-traffic handling, and specialized domains still demand accumulated experience and expertise. Still, this is a great moment to reflect: in a future where the boundaries between disciplines blur and everyone possesses multiple skills and domain expertise, what should an engineer do?

If we want to keep moving forward under these conditions, I believe we can approach it from a few angles:

1. Build a solid, deep foundation in computer science.
2. Go deep and broad in at least one domain outside of programming itself.
3. Expose yourself to things beyond coding: marketing, product design, management, communication, and personal branding.

Take NiceChord’s video from a few weeks ago about adding subtitles, for instance. Although it was a bit off-topic for a music channel, I was amazed by his drive to turn an idea into action—even uploading it to GitHub for everyone to use and modify.

The feature is quite simple, and any competent engineer could whip it up in no time. But I’d argue that the idea itself, combined with taking immediate action, is what truly matters.

Would you have thought of that idea? Not to mention those engineers who instinctively want to refactor and over-engineer the moment they see code—spending hours tinkering without even getting the feature working.

And if you look closely at the code, it’s actually not that hard to follow. At most, having variables declared in the outer scope makes it a bit messy to manage, but the code is very straightforward and concise, free of unnecessary abstractions.

Take a closer look at NiceChord’s channel, and you’ll realize he embodies the qualities of an exceptional engineer: clear logic, structured thinking, a passion for sharing, and swift execution. These traits are rare even within the software industry, let alone across different fields. He has made phone calls using a piano, decoded videos, written a song using Google Translate, built a subtitle generator, and created a Circle of Fifths tool. Some of that code might even give professional engineers a run for their money.

NiceChord is a YouTube channel I really love. I’ve been watching it ever since graduating from high school and have picked up plenty of practical music theory from it.

In fact, the meta-learning methodology developed from mastering one field isn’t all that different from learning to code. That’s why you see people without a CS degree picking up the necessary knowledge and getting up to speed so quickly—it’s all thanks to the disciplined thinking they honed in other domains.

I witnessed this firsthand in my previous job.

Creators spend an immense amount of time producing their work, and if they survive in their industry, they inevitably master their own set of principles and know-how. Because they bring expertise from another field to the table, they can identify solutions and core bottlenecks much faster.

Does this mean software engineers are losing their value? Of course not.

If anything, this trend separates the wheat from the chaff. Engineers without real substance will quickly fall behind.

While it’s great that creators are starting to code, they often do so just to solve immediate problems without necessarily understanding the underlying principles or performance implications. That’s where an engineer’s value shines. However, as computing power becomes overwhelmingly abundant, that kind of value may not always be obvious.

Then there are the more complex, large-scale challenges—things like GPS, big data, machine learning, computer vision, and so on. These can’t be picked up with a quick tutorial; they require deep, sustained dedication to master. That is where engineers remain irreplaceable. Beyond that lies foundational knowledge: operating systems, and timeless data structures and algorithms.

I’m sure that besides NiceChord, many other creators have already ventured into the world of programming. It’s shaping up to be a fascinating phenomenon, and I look forward to seeing more creators share their journeys of learning to code.