Thinking Like a Builder
A couple of years ago, right when AI started to make a serious dent in public consciousness, it became clear that software engineering (not to mention tech jobs more broadly) were about to change. So I did what I often do when standing at the edge of something new: I asked smart people what they saw coming.
One of the people I asked was Joel Spolsky, the founder of Stack Overflow, a website of over 24 million specific questions and answers about programming related questions. For a long time, it was the only place on the Internet where you could get peer-reviewed, real-time access to the errors and bugs that you’d inevitably run into when coding up a new project.
Before Stack Overflow launched in 2008, most answers lived in textbooks or behind paywalls. It was among the first of its kind to tap into the collective knowledge of people who use the Internet and turn that into a product.
The fact that Stack Overflow emerged during a previous technological precipice (the one when we moved knowledge from books and analog formats into searchable digital libraries) made me wonder what parallels we can draw to today’s AI-driven shift, where we’re now reformatting that same digital knowledge into conversational tools like large language models.
So I asked Joel:
“What do you think the next generation of software engineers need to know how to survive this AI-native era? Will coding still matter? And what might high school students today need to know to thrive tomorrow?”
His response surprised me: Bring back maker spaces.
He wasn’t talking about VR goggles or digital-first tech. He meant real maker spaces—ones with woodworking tools, metalwork, robotics kits, plumbing projects. Physical things kids can take apart, tinker with, and rebuild.
I thought this was a unique take. But the more I thought about it, the more I agreed. Because learning how systems work, especially how they shift states, break down, and get rebuilt, is more important than ever. But it’s not just about knowing mechanics or carpentry. It’s about establishing your own mental model for building and improving systems, the foundation that will inform your lifelong design-thinking mindset.
In other words: start with whatever you’re already obsessed with. Then use that “inner geek” as a lens to explore how technology might enhance, augment, or reimagine it.
Build Something Real: How Hands-On Hobbies Shape Your Design Mindset
Beyond Joel’s ideas, here are a few other hands-on hobbies that teach you how to think like a builder—whether you’re in school or just learning as you go.
Five Hobbies to Unlock Your Inner Builder
Cook something from scratch, repeatedly.
Consider how a cake baking habit or a sourdough bread baking kick helps you learn a lot of little things about the entire end-to-end process of 0 to done (literally). Each subsequent bake teaches you more about how to improve the process, thus refining this important skill. Do it the hard way first, then look for ways to use technology to help you make it better. This is iteration in action.Grow plants from seeds.
Gardening is pure state-change work. Seeds become seedlings, then plants, then maybe food or flowers, but each stage demands a different kind of attention (ie: seed starters, hardening off, managing environmental conditions, and harvesting). Over time, you’ll learn patience, pattern recognition, and how to manage a portfolio of projects. Once you’ve got the basics down, you can try optimizing with a simple irrigation system, sunlight sensors, or use AI to plan your planting schedule.Create your own art by hand.
Start with a sketch. Then refine it, or transform it. Artistic work is deeply iterative, and it can be incredibly revealing (not to mention personally satisfying). You’ll learn how your brain processes feedback and how your ideas evolve through versions. Assess your progress by looking back on various former iterations and acknowledging what you changed and why. Then try to layer technology into one step of the process at a time, discuss its impact on the final product.Make or program your own gadgets.
We’re in a golden age of hackable hardware. One easy-to-use programmable device that my husband and I use is a Tidbyt, which lets you incorporate mini-widgets onto a rotating digital display. We’ve coded in things like the weather and the local bus schedules. The more comfortable you get at both using your hands to make something, then programming that device, the more you’ll apply systems thinking into your own day-to-day life.Make your own music.
You can start with just a beat. Then add in audio samples, musical elements, lyrics, or more. Make songs on your own, or try generating them with AI, then evaluate which is better. Have an opinion about what you like and don’t like, then do it all again. Develop taste. Even better if you can get your songs out in front of an audience (either IRL or virtually) for some quick feedback.
As the pace of technological change accelerates, the most valuable skill we can teach isn’t just how to use the latest tools: It’s how to think like a builder.
Whether you're a student just starting out or someone recalibrating mid-career, developing the ability to recognize system shifts, adapt to new states, and rebuild with intention is what will set you apart. The future of work won’t be defined by any single language, platform, or device—but by our capacity to stay curious, work iteratively, and bring our obsessions to life, one prototype at a time.
