From big factory management to independent developer AI technology widens the boundaries of new occupations

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"In 2024, when I used artificial intelligence (AI) programming tools to develop the first APP with in-store purchase function, I suddenly realized that what used to require a team can now be done by one person using AI." Talking about the experience of transforming from the management of a major Internet company to an independent AI developer, Chen Yunfei's tone contained excitement about the possibilities of a new career. Today, he has not only launched a popular application developed independently by himself, but also diversified his income through content sharing and business cooperation. All of this stems from the new employment space opened up by AI technology for new occupations.
At the end of 2022, Chen Yunfei, who was still doing user research and operation at a large factory, was keenly aware that "working methods will be rewritten" when he first tried AI tools at work. At that time, most people in the company had not yet realized the potential of AI, but he knew that with his traditional professional background, it was extremely difficult to transform into AI in the workplace. "In a large factory, I am like a screw in a long production chain. If I want to make a complete product independently, I need the cooperation of multiple roles such as operation, design, and programming. It is almost impossible to complete it independently.”
In March 2023, Chen Yunfei resolutely resigned and became an explorer in the AI field. In the early days, he tried to develop using ChatGPT, but could only make simple browser plug-ins; until August 2024, when more powerful AI programming tools appeared, he finally broke through the bottleneck and successfully developed an APP. with complex functions. "AI is like my 'invisible partner'. I only need to describe my ideas clearly and it can generate code; when encountering problems such as shelf qualifications and software use, I can also find a solution by asking AI."
This lowering of the skill threshold is one of the core logics for new occupations to expand employment. In the past, developing a product required "full-stack skills" or "teamwork." Nowadays, AI tools simplify professional aspects such as programming and design, allowing more people like Chen Yunfei who have ideas but lack special skills to enter the independent development track. This is not only an increase in career choices, but also a breakthrough in the boundaries of employability.
"When I left, I thought that 10 years of user research and operation experience would be useless, and I was even ready to 'start from scratch.'" Chen Yunfei said frankly that the initial anxiety about transformation is also a common concern of many traditional professionals when facing new careers. But reality gave him an unexpected answer. The experience accumulated in the past has become a "bonus" for his new career.
When developing products, he analyzed needs with user research thinking, accurately positioned "product concepts that users really need", avoiding the misunderstanding of "self-indulgent development" among many independent developers; after the product was launched, he relied on user operation experience to formulate a promotion strategy and solved the industry pain point of "no one uses the product".
This reuse of experience makes the new profession no longer the opposite of the traditional workplace, but a new outlet of traditional experience. For people who have worked for many years, new careers do not need to "abandon the past", they only need to use AI tools to migrate their original abilities across borders. This not only reduces the cost of transformation, but also broadens the employment options of "experienced people" and breaks the stereotype of "career transformation = experience clearing".
If Chen Yunfei's transformation is a "breakthrough for those with experience", then the case of a 16-year-old high school student shows the greater potential of the new profession in "expanding the employment population."
At the end of last year, a Guangdong high school student studying in Hong Kong contacted Chen Yunfei and said that after reading his AI development and sharing, he wanted to try to develop an APP, but because he "couldn't register an Apple developer account" and "couldn't make up the annual fee of 688 yuan" was in trouble. After Chen Yunfei shared the matter, someone took the initiative to fund the annual fee. Today, this high school student with "zero programming basics" not only won the second prize (prize money of 20,000 yuan) in the hackathon competition launched by ByteDance, but also was selected for Apple's youth development event and was given the opportunity to go to Apple headquarters in the United States to meet Cook.
"This child made me realize that there is no age threshold or academic threshold for new occupations. As long as they are willing to learn and know how to use AI, young people can also seize the opportunity." Chen Yunfei said that in the past, development occupations often required professional qualifications and work experience, and new AI-driven occupations allowed young people and zero-foundation people to enter the track by "learning and doing". This not only provides young people with a new employment path of "trial and error in advance and accumulating experience", but also allows the job market to shift from "existing competition" to "incremental expansion."
Talking about suggestions for people who want to try a new career, Chen Yunfei mentioned the idea of "sideline transition":"Don't quit your main business at the beginning, use AI in your main business first to improve efficiency, and then use 'Feynman Learning Method Sharing can not only reduce risks, but also slowly find direction."
Chen Yunfei's transformation also followed the "exploration of low expectations". When he left, he planned to "accept without making money for a year". In the early stage, he relied on knowledge payment to obtain the first income, and gradually expanded to "content platform incentives + in-product purchase + commercial cooperation"."The diversified income model. "Making content and products now can bring passive income, which is more flexible than the early consultation of 'time-for-money'. The income of new occupations is diversified and employment is more stable."
Today, with the maturity of AI tools, the track for new careers is still expanding. There is no need for a large team to shoot short advertising videos, no need for full-stack skills to make products, and reliable AI assistance to make content. These changes are opening more employment windows for professionals, young people and even "cross-border people."
"The new profession is not to replace traditional employment, but to give everyone another choice." Chen Yunfei said that with the promotion of AI technology, employment is no longer limited to fixed positions and fixed teams, but has shifted to a flexible model with "ideas as the core and AI as the tool." This may be the real code for new occupations to expand employment, allowing everyone to find their own new employment possibilities with the empowerment of technology.