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In my understanding, a senior engineer is an engineer that can contribute without the need for technical supervision.
Now, not requiring supervision is different to leadership. A senior engineer is often an individual contributor, not necessarily a team technical leader.
I'm also agreeing with leadership and mentoring. Be able to make unbiased technical decisions, troubleshoot systems / apps and get up to speed on new projets independently fairly fast. Have confidence in what you do and don't ask about everything. A solid general code understanding is also needed in my opinion. This includes things like using documentation over googling everything. If I pair with a senior and he type…
Heed your own advice. You might not like the current system of hierarchy, that's fine. And change it when/if you get the chance.
But in the meantime, don't abstain from senior positions (and salaries) that others get just because you don't like a concept. Play inside the system until you can change it.
It's a pretty arbitrary term, but based on what you've said, especially "I don't fancy the new and shiny. I just get things done fast and done properly" , would be enough for me to label you a senior programmer. Our industry is way too obsessed with fashion... sooner or later you realise that most of the "new" stuff is largely existing ideas re-hashed in a slightly different form. Senior programmers realise this and…
To the junior engineer, "done properly" might have a different meaning. A senior engineer should be able to explain in detail what "properly" means.
It can happen even with two years of experience.
Junior: Can do it with guidance and/or clear and non-transitional specs
Developer: Takes the ball and runs with it. Can walk a customer through requirements gathering and make recommendations. Will help guide junior developers.
Senior Developer: Can architect a system well. Can communicate equally well between executives, salespeople, management, and end users. Can and will mentor lower level developers. Can explain concepts on the fly to lower level developers and walk them through the development process in terms they understand. Takes initiative at learning new technologies.
I would consider you a “senior” programmer? Mainly because you know that you do not know much. While a junior or intermediate programmer think they know everything. There are of course more to it, like when you are stuck on something; you ask the senior programmer, that will probably have solved it ten times in the past. Or if you want to know what the best method is to do this, you ask the senior programmer, that ha…
My personal definitions: Junior: Can do it with guidance and/or clear and non-transitional specs Developer: Takes the ball and runs with it. Can walk a customer through requirements gathering and make recommendations. Will help guide junior developers. Senior Developer: Can architect a system well. Can communicate equally well between executives, salespeople, management, and end users. Can and will mentor lower level…
Well yeah, I can do that, but isn't that normally the business analyst's job?