I have about 7 years of experience as a dev, the last 3 have been under the title of “senior” software engineer but I really don’t feel like one.
We’ve all worked with people who are great engineers and if they aren’t at a senior level in title they either should be or are on their way to becoming one quickly. The best way I can describe these people are they are the ones you want to go to when you need clarity. You want these people to review your code, not because they will just rubber stamp it but because it will make you more confident you didn’t miss something or make a mistake. You want these people in meetings to decide how long something will take to do and if it’s even worth the investment, you want these people around when something breaks, etc…
I don’t feel like I fit the description of this kind of person very well and it gives me massive imposter syndrome. I’ve always been more of a generalist so my breadth of knowledge is pretty wide but I don’t go too deep on any specific thing which I feel has become somewhat limiting. I don’t ever feel like I become the go to person for really much of anything and it makes me feel like I have to try even harder to prove myself. I attribute a lot of this to the fact that I just want my job to be my job, I want to go home and not continue to work or do side projects. A lot of the best people I’ve worked with have been the opposite, they live and breath work and honing their craft.
Are there ways I can be a good senior level engineer without having to sacrifice my personal life?
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45459230
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Source: news.ycombinator.com
