One thing I noticed after I completed my coaching training in 2022 is that I went through an identity crisis. I had trouble asking for money to coach people because my identity and worth was tied to writing code. Once I let go of the limiting belief that I could only create value for others by writing code, the resistance to ask for money faded as well. I also learned from experienced coaches that the value for clients is actually higher when you charge more money. Clients show up on time, more prepared, and committed to making a change when they paid a meaningful amount before a session. They simply got more out of it. They weren’t paying for my time; but for their own growth. It was just my ego standing in my way.
I believe engineers are going through a similar identity crisis with AI. I feel the same resistance towards adopting AI tools as I did when learning to become a coach. But what if the value we create as engineers isn’t in the ascii characters we type on a screen, but in our creativity and our desire to solve customer problems.
