I read some where the definition to be as a software engineer who's primary role is to reduce risk. This sounds like a solid benchmark to me since this usually entails that although you may not have a lot of knowledge about the latest JavaScript framework but instead have deep cs fundamentals knowledge which would allow you to mitigate software risks in most environments.
Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
121–130 of 162 posts
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#122My very first developer job after graduating was a 'senior member of technical staff' so who really knows.
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#123After 60?
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#124Earlier quoted context omitted.
Anecdotally, I feel like this is how my older peers see me. I've been working (professionally) in this industry since I was 16 years old, I got my first job as a junior after tinkering with computers since I was 8 years old. At the age of 23, I've found it very difficult to earn the respect of the people around me because of my age. I have the title of senior developer because I've had experience working on scalabili…
Curiosity: are you from US? Is software engineering seen as less valuable than computer science? I'm asking this because for me software engineering is a more complete discipline and would encompass pretty much everything computer science does.
In the US, degree programs actually called "software engineering" are few and far between; most software engineers who are college educated have a computer science degree.
It's also worth noting that the term "software engineer" isn't regulated here, while other engineering titles are.
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#125Earlier quoted context omitted.
The other side of this is that departments with leftover budget will cast around wildly for anything plausible to spend it on, lest they have their budget slashed next year, "use it or lose it" style. The company I work for has made more than a couple big sales in December from this phenomenon. Sometimes they never even deploy the software.
Trouble with salary raises are; you do effectively lose it because you can't take that raise back next year ;)
I think he's referring more to one time expenditures.
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#126Earlier quoted context omitted.
There was a question a week ago about junior developers. mrmekon [1] gave an excellent answer: It depends on when and why I'm defining it, but my guidelines are more based on how they work than what they know: * Junior developer - Will not produce much business value if left alone, and may produce nothing at all. Requires supervision. * Intermediate developer - Will produce something if left alone, but not necessaril…
This is very much the perspective I have taken over the years. When I'm hiring a senior developer, I'm looking for someone who will step in and own the project they're given. If I had to pick a single expression, especially one recognizable to this crowd, I would say it is someone who can execute. I also tend to view senior developers almost as internal consultants (good ones) because they should be willing and able…
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Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#127I guess ... Once you realise that you don't want to be a senior or a developer at all.
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
This seems to be a good road to go down, but low hanging fruit skews this a bit. For example at my first IT job they used a system that text messaged customers to remind them of appointments. It cost $250 a month per office (12 offices), I took initiative (I was the only IT person in the company, I had very little management) and replaced it with an alternative I wrote in Python that used Twillo and brought that cost…
Senior developers also learn to stop being needlessly pedantic.
You're right I am a senior developer.
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#129Senior = most senior dev in the building.
AKA Designated Survivor.
Re: Ask HN: When are you considered a “senior” programmer?
#130Whatever it takes to best satisfy your customer. That's it. No, I'm not being snarky, so hear me out... I've met and worked with many developers over the years and lots of them have become very good with technology and user domains, but still have struggled to "crack the digital ceiling". These are brilliant people who have achieved serious things, but are still not recognized by the big decision makers as "senior",…
Many companies have a separate "Product Manager" role for that business, so that the brilliant engineers can brilliant SENIOR implementors. Have a dedicated professional worry about the customer impact, product requirements, etc., along with other non-programming tasks that many developers understandably prefer not to get bogged down in.
They do. But separating those two roles and having two different people make those decisions tends to result in less-than-optimal decisions. It's the same kind of problem as "let's have the tech done by engineers and the business done by business people," and then your business gets bulldozed by a competitor whose CEO does understand engineering.