Cliché About Career Levels From Microsoft

AP (Alex Park)AP (Alex Park)
1 min read
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This post was originally posted to my blog on Medium. That blog has since been taken offline.

When I was back at Microsoft on the Office 365 team, there was a myth of sorts, apparently first uttered by our then-director, passed down by mouth to new developers. Before I write it down, it’s worth noting the title progression at Microsoft: Software Engineer 1, Software Engineer 2, Senior Software Engineer, then Principal Software Engineer. It’s a catchy way to remind us that software engineering is not just about solving problems, but also doing it in a way that is as simple and maintainable as possible.

SDE 1’s — simple problems, complicated solutions.

SDE 2’s — complicated problems, complicated solutions.

Seniors — complicated problems, simple solutions.

Principals — removes the problem altogether.

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AP (Alex Park)
AP (Alex Park)

I've been developing software for over a decade now (I'm getting old 👴🏼). In my career, I've been at large corporations, successful startups, failed startups, and now at a startup I cofounded. It's been a fun journey! When I'm not coding, I am a dad to a beautiful daughter and a maybe-slightly-less-beautiful corgi. I also play video games. Don't ask me how many hours I have in Rocket League or Factorio.