This presentation explores how developers and IT professionals are reconstructing their occupational identity as AI transform our field.

As generative AI increasingly handle tasks we once considered core to our professional identity, many experienced developers face an existential question: "What makes me valuable as a programmer if AI can code?"

Using occupational science concepts as well as drawing inspiration from Viktor Frankl's seminal work, we'll examine three critical phases developers experience: identity construction (actively rebuilding professional self-concept), identity discrepancy (the gap between past and present roles), and identity disruption (acute crisis of professional worth). Through real developer stories and research insights, we'll reveal how those thriving in this transition find meaning not in circumstances, but in their chosen response to change.

This unique collaboration between a software architect and occupational therapist offers both technical depth and humanistic insight. We'll provide practical strategies for evolving from "code writer" to "AI shepherd," transforming existential anxiety into purposeful occupation.

Have been presented at Devoxx BE 2025, https://youtu.be/Jo5mOBRr2b4