When I chose Computer Science as my degree, I had three reasons — and it turns out I was wrong about two of them.
- I thought it would lead me to game development.
- All the alternative job options sounded like something I’d enjoy doing.
- Most importantly, I believed I wouldn’t have to deal with people much.
I’m definitely not a game developer, but I was very wrong about that last one. What takes you beyond senior developer isn’t your code output, it’s your social skills and your ability to help others grow.
This post is the third entry in my series Being a Great Developer Is More Than Just Code Output. You can find the previous posts here:
Finding Passion for Mentorship
I’ve been developing software for about 15 years now, across different teams, companies, and setups. But my first job opportunity — as an intern — marked me the most.
It was a small, 10-person team. Everyone was a few years older than me, yet they were kind, patient, and genuinely eager to teach. I looked up to one engineer in particular — a natural mentor who helped me find my footing. His generosity with his time and knowledge had a huge impact on me, and that experience has stayed with me ever since.
Most of my career has been at smaller teams, which meant there was little to no room for junior engineers, and career development wasn’t a top priority. I left many of these jobs because I felt like I had learned everything I could and started to feel stagnant.
At my last company, that opportunity finally became formalized. The team had a mix of early-career developers, many just out of college or bootcamps, alongside senior engineers. That setup immediately caught my attention — it was a space where mentorship could happen.
By joining the Career Development Committee, I helped refine the engineering growth framework to clarify what was expected at each level and what was needed for promotion. That led me to later co-lead the coaching program, which put me — and other senior engineers — in a position to help our junior peers level up. It was incredibly fulfilling, not just for the impact it had, but for how it rekindled something I’d been missing: a passion for mentorship and the desire to pay it forward.
Why Mentorship Matters
So why should senior developers care about mentoring? Why should you make space for it, formal or not, when it doesn’t directly ship features or move metrics?
Mentorship strengthens your team’s culture, fosters collaboration, builds trust, and scales knowledge. The time you invest in helping others grow comes back through faster PR cycles, tighter feedback loops, and higher-quality output. It turns a collection of individuals into a cohesive, resilient team.
For you personally, mentorship is how you grow from being a great coder to being a great developer. It teaches you to:
- Break down complex ideas clearly.
- Develop empathy and patience.
- Recognize potential in others.
- Give effective, constructive feedback.
- Flex your leadership muscles — with or without the title.
A team where everyone — regardless of seniority — is constantly learning naturally stays longer. I’ve seen retention stretch from the usual 2–3 years to 5+ when mentorship is part of the culture.
Although it can happen, where the best technical engineers get promoted to leadership positions — either on the management or technical track — in my opinion, the ones that should be in those positions are those who lift others up.
Mentorship in the Age of AI
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI.
We’re in an era where many teams are cutting junior roles in favor of AI tools. I’ve heard comments like, “This AI can do what a junior dev would take three times as long to do.”
Sure. But the AI agent doesn’t learn between sessions. It doesn’t gain context. It doesn’t mentor others.
If you stop hiring and growing junior engineers, you’re jeopardizing your team’s future. You lose the next generation of talent, institutional knowledge, and diverse perspective.
That’s why, as senior developers, we should advocate for mentorship and early-career hiring. Even if it takes time and effort, it’s a net positive for everyone and for the industry.
Here’s why it matters:
- Continuity: Seniors move on. Juniors carry forward the team’s context.
- Resilience: AI still needs human judgment. You need devs who can use it wisely.
- Sustainability: Mentorship builds a healthy, diverse, long-term talent pipeline.
Mentorship isn’t just “nice to have.” It’s an act of stewardship — for your craft, your team, and your industry.
Mentorship vs. Coaching
In my last role, the company leaned more heavily on coaching than mentorship. The two overlap, but they serve different purposes.
- Coaching is focused and time-bound — goal-oriented, structured, and measurable.
- Mentorship is broader and relational — rooted in trust, curiosity, and growth.
Personally, I always leaned toward mentorship. My goal wasn’t just to help someone fix a bug or hit a short-term milestone — it was to help them develop their voice as an engineer.
The most meaningful part of mentoring was the relationships that lasted beyond the formal engagement: the check-ins, the technical chats, the career talks. The feeling that someone could always reach out for guidance or advice.
That’s the kind of connection that shaped my own career and it’s the kind of mentor I strive to be.
Closing Thoughts
Mentorship is how we turn knowledge into legacy.
Being a great developer isn’t just about solving hard problems — it’s about helping others solve them, too. It’s about sharing your context, your empathy, and your experience so the next generation doesn’t have to start from zero.
If you’re a senior developer, mentor someone. If you’re in a position to influence hiring, advocate for junior engineers. And if your company doesn’t have a mentorship program — start one.
Because what takes you beyond senior isn’t your code — it’s your impact on people.
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