When Can I Call Myself a Senior Developer?

Finding Job Listings for Senior Positions

The tech industry is full of opportunities — big tech companies are always looking for new, talented people to make their teams stronger. That means that you have many opportunities to find senior developer roles.

However, when you apply for jobs, you might be confused by the variety of titles companies use when listing senior developer roles. You might see job listings for senior engineers, lead developers, principal developers and more — all of which could refer to the role you’re seeking. Therefore, it’s helpful to look at the qualifications instead of focusing purely on the title in the job posting.

Here are some common qualifications for a senior developer role:

• Years of experience with a programming language: Senior developers need to have deep experience in their chosen language, and this usually comes with time. Although the exact amount of time varies depending on the company and the tech stack, five to eight years is a common requirement.
• Experience working with frameworks: It is important to know how programming frameworks work and how to leverage their solutions.
• Foundation in Software Architecture and Design Patterns: A strong foundation in software architecture and design patterns is a universal requirement for senior developers. Even if you haven’t worked with the programming language or framework a given job post is looking for, you’ll still be a strong candidate if you have this knowledge.
Kodeco has a number of books, videos and articles to help you brush up on your design pattern skills.
• Good communication and collaboration: As a senior developer, you’ll be expected to take a leadership role. That means collaborating and communicating with others. Even if you have a strong tech foundation, having even stronger soft skills will be a tiebreaker in your favor.
• A bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science: Many job postings list a degree or an equivalent amount of experience as a requirement — but don’t be afraid to apply, even if you don’t have the degree. Many great developers in our industry never completed their formal education. If you demonstrate you can do the job, you won’t need the degree. If you don’t have the right skills, a degree won’t save you.

While many job postings for senior developers list requirements like these, don’t feel discouraged if you don’t meet all of them. Recruiters sometimes add many more requirements than the job needs as a way to filter candidates for that role. If you have knowledge gaps, you’ll quickly close them on the job as you see how your new company gets things done.

What’s Next for a Senior Developer?

Becoming a senior developer doesn’t mean you’ve reached the peak of your career. Your company might offer positions for staff engineers and principal engineers. These positions are even higher in the software engineering hierarchy, and they require you to take a more specialized role, working with multiple teams in creating solutions to complex problems.

The way most career paths go, as you become more experienced and take on new challenges, you’ll face an important choice in your career: whether to take the executive path or the technical path.

This decision is known as the Y career model, which says that as you progress in your career, you’ll eventually become either an executive or a specialist.

At this point, you might also decide to try new challenges and take on a managerial role. A few roles in the managerial path include:

• Team Leader or Engineering Manager
• Director of Engineering
• VP of Engineering
• Chief Technical Officer (CTO)

For the technical specialist path (also known as being an IC, or individual contributor), some roles include:

• Principal or Distinguished Architect
• Chief Engineer
• Senior Technical Specialist

Before you decide which path to follow, consider the sort of career you want, because the career path diverges here. Do you want to manage other people or have an engineering role?

Remember, though, that it’s never too late to change and find the best fit for you, no matter how long you’ve been working in a position.

Reflecting on the Perfect Role for You

As a great uncle once said, with great power comes great responsibility. Becoming a senior developer also comes with great responsibility — and you might not want that. If you’re not interested in leading teams or being responsible for big projects, that’s OK. A career where you feel fulfilled and content in your professional life is just as important.

Throughout this article, you’ve learned what it takes to be a senior developer. But although a fairly common career path involves moving from junior to senior dev, that doesn’t have to be the path you follow.

You can have seniority as a developer without leading teams and managing projects. You can find positions where you’d be more focused on solving problems. It is important to understand what you want professionally and not feel pressured to follow any other path.

Where to Go From Here?

Now that you know what a senior developer is, check out Evaluating Job Offers: How to Decide If a Company Is Right for You to make sure you’re choosing the right company for you.

It’s also a good idea to read about Why Personal Branding Is Vital for Software Engineers so you can stand out from other senior developer candidates.

Key Takeaways

• Companies have different criteria to define what a senior developer is.
• Senior developers aren’t just good technically; they also excel at communication, collaboration and leadership.
• When looking for senior positions, don’t be afraid to apply if you don’t meet all their requirements. You might be a great fit for what they are looking for.
• It’s important to consider whether you want the responsibilities of a senior developer. Career paths are not necessarily linear, and you’re allowed to experiment and find a position that suits you best.

Have any questions, suggestions or ideas about how to become a senior developer? Feel free to share in the comments below!