The A.I. Bridge

Too expensive to be fast. Not experienced enough to be essential. That's the mid-career fear. But what if it's backwards?

The AI skills conversation usually splits into two camps.

Juniors have the tools. They're fast, native, fearless with new tech. But they haven't built the reps yet - the judgment that comes from seeing things go wrong a hundred times.

Seniors have the judgment. The pattern recognition. The "I've seen this before" instinct. But the tools can feel foreign, and there's a learning curve
they didn't budget for.

A lot of people worry about the middle.

Squeezed from both sides.

And yet.

Mid-career might actually be the sweet spot. Enough reps to have judgment. Young enough to learn the tools without fighting them.

The question isn't junior vs senior. It's: who's building in both directions?

Juniors need to build reps - not just outputs, but the kind of practice that builds instinct and wisdom.

Seniors need to get hands-on with the tools - not delegate, actually use them.

And the middle? Maybe they're not as stuck as everyone assumes.

As for how everyone builds in both directions - that's for another post.

P.S. This slide came from my talk on AI Acceleration at mci group's Business Academy.