I have a similar issue. I'm also wondering if I'm selling myself short (prior to switching stacks). I also get many more emails for senior dev positions even though I'm midlevel.
I'd say give it a shot.
Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
11–19 of 19 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#12There comes a time when your internal expectations don’t align with the world, and this is one of those times. The days when “senior” meant a decade or more of experience are long gone. Now the industry has decided that 5 years is a senior software engineer, 10 years is a principal. Enjoy the higher pay while it lasts.
I see way more senior postings than everything else combined. Your comment about 5 years experience helps this make sense.
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
So basically it doesn't matter which level you're hired for, because you'll have to teach yourself how to do the job regardless (with minimal training/mentoring)?
That's mostly been my experience. If you've got more than a couple years experience most companies expect you to perform with minimal direction beyond showing you where the code is. Perhaps I'm just cynical, which is a good possibility so grain of salt and all that, and your mileage may vary. You may consider asking in the interview where the interviewer feels their skills are today relative to where they were when t…
I very much agree. I would also add the cynical side that management always finds things to nitpick and hold people back.
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#14You’re technical and have self-awareness of failings? I’d hire you to be a manager. I wouldn’t be worried you can’t learn and grow.
Note that being aware of one's failings doesn't necessarily mean a person has yet learned how to mitigate them.
And it is downright spirit-crushing to go into a situation thinking, "I do not know what I'm doing", ask for help only to be told to have more self-confidence, fail, and then have others be disappointed in you for your 'obvious' failures.
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#15I have the opposite issue, also have around 5 years of experienced, for more than once I have been perceived as a junior during interviews and then after working for 2-3 months managers and teams would throw comments like “we under-leveled you, let’s get you a promo and fix it” “you’re more senior than I thought”. I don’t know what gives the impression during interviews and it’s starting to frustrate me, I just want to be brought in at the right level that reflects what I’m able to offer. I’m a woman if that matters at all and I wonder if anyone else has encountered that and can offer some advice.
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#16Apart from the technical side of things, there is a level of maturity regarding behavior and high level approach that comes into play. Maybe you have these traits naturally, thus ppl assume you are a senior developer.
I wouldn’t get too stuck in levels (junior, senior, principal, etc.). They don’t map between companies the way you’d expect.
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#17I have the opposite issue, also have around 5 years of experienced, for more than once I have been perceived as a junior during interviews and then after working for 2-3 months managers and teams would throw comments like “we under-leveled you, let’s get you a promo and fix it” “you’re more senior than I thought”. I don’t know what gives the impression during interviews and it’s starting to frustrate me, I just want…
Confidence and clear communication are huge parts of what gives the impression of seniority.
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#18> Honestly, I'm not that good. I'm a super mediocre coder. I try to be really transparent with my work experience and skill set and I acknowledge that I have weaknesses that need fixing and plenty of learning still left ahead.
When you understand what you don't know, you become mature and journey towards excellence starts. So don't underestimate yourself, you'r on right path. Just stay passionate and curious. It will pay you off in long run. (I might be wrong, but in my experience people who talk loud knew very less)
> I'm just afraid that potential employers think I'm capable of doing things that in reality I cannot do, and I don't want to go into the job and eventually get fired if I fail to meet the expectations that I was hired based on.
Don't bother with these thoughts. If you get selected, it means you're a good fit (Again don't underestimate your interviewers). I was in similar dilemma before, but it worked out well.
> don't know if I can go against these employers and say, "No, I want to be a SWE 2 not a 3. No, I'm a mid-level SWE, not a senior. Interview me with that in mind and stop having such high expectations of me." I can't tell if I'm potentially lacking confidence, or if I'm misrepresenting my work experience to seem more impactful than it really was.
Everything depends on organization structure & culture. Designation doesn't play big role always. Things change across project to project and people to people. You may end up with no responsibility or all responsibility.
Also instead of planning career in SWE2/3/4, consider below categories based on responsibilities and skillset required.
- IC (SWE2/3/4/architect)
- Manager (Delivery Manager/Product Owners/Program Managers etc)
- Executives (Directors/Managers/VPs)
- Enterprenures
So if you're SWE2, you can easily SURVIVE as SWE3/4/architect.
Re: Ask HN: How do I stop companies from up-leveling me? Am I underselling myself?
#19I have the opposite issue, also have around 5 years of experienced, for more than once I have been perceived as a junior during interviews and then after working for 2-3 months managers and teams would throw comments like “we under-leveled you, let’s get you a promo and fix it” “you’re more senior than I thought”. I don’t know what gives the impression during interviews and it’s starting to frustrate me, I just want…
"I’m a woman if that matters at all...". It could very well be. Not necessarily because you're being immediately discounted because you are a woman (though that could be a factor), but women oftentimes do not negotiate their position up front as much as men do. I don't know if that is true in your case, but if so perhaps holding out for a higher position up front, with reasoning provided, before accepting a position might help.