Key Insights on Junior to Senior Career Progression

I had a conversation with a 2 different heads of engineering and they hit on a couple of key truths about career advancement and the key differences between junior, mid and senior developers. This doesn’t only apply to sticking at the same company, career progression can also take place when applying for a new job that is at the next rank.

A junior progression into mid-level is usually an automatic advancement after a minimum 2-years of professional experience within your discipline (i,e; frontend, backend).

A senior however shows leadership and drives on initiatives that align with both company values and personal career development goals.

a Real life example

I am currently going through a career breakthrough phase. I have been sat at the mid-level frontend developer for around 5+ years now. I’ve been at my current employer from well into 1-year and I’m thirsty for my next evolution into seniority. I have been involved in team initiatives and driving these forward, started to mentor other devs and now looking to germinating my own initiative for the next financial year.

I have found an initiative gap in our department that I could drive. The way I’m going to achieve this is by aligning my personal career development goals with the company’s engineering vision.

This has to start at an OKR (Objective, Key, Results) level. This way it can be tracked and monitored throughout the year to ensure that:

1. I stay on track with the initiative

2. Upper management can clearly see what I have achieved

From here it comes down to my own commitment self-learning, knowledge sharing through guild meetings and working groups for others to get involved and having an understanding that I am not the know-it-all for that area but I am someone who is a point-of-contact for the initiative who is willing to go away and find the answers.

What it takes

This type of senior initiative driving can also be called championing. A person who supports and advocates for the development of the initiative because the person is passionate about this area AND it has positive results for the company.

It takes courage to be a driver in this way. You will have to get good at answering unscripted questions from both technical and non-technical perspectives. You must be open and honest in your findings and your current level of understanding. You will need to attend conferences, webinars and meet ups to progress your knowledge. You will need to get good at documentation and probably drawing data flow diagrams or similar. And most of all you will need to discern between what is useless information and what has the most meaningful impact.

Conclusion

In conclusion, progressing from a junior to a senior developer involves more than just accumulating years of experience. It requires demonstrating leadership, taking initiative, and aligning personal career goals with the company's vision. By championing initiatives, engaging in continuous learning, and effectively communicating with both technical and non-technical stakeholders, you as a developer can have an active say in your career development. This journey demands courage, commitment, and the ability to strive towards the betterment of your team.