At the beginning of every year, I pause to reset my thinking:
what I want to grow, what I want to stop doing, and where my energy really goes.
Recently, I asked developers what they struggle with most right now.
One question came up again and again:
“I’m not a Junior anymore — but I don’t feel confident at my level.”
This isn’t a Junior problem.
I’ve seen experienced engineers — even Seniors — stuck in the same place for years.
They had the title.
They had the experience.
But something was missing.
Because seniority is not defined by:
- years of coding
- the complexity of tasks you receive
- or how many tools you know
It’s defined by how you think when there’s no clear answer.
In practice, the biggest difference is ownership.
Junior mindset:
- waits for clear instructions
- optimizes for correctness
- avoids responsibility outside their task
Senior mindset:
- defines the problem when it’s unclear
- makes trade-offs and owns them
- thinks in outcomes, not tickets
In 2026, the gap won’t be between Juniors and Seniors by title.
It will be between people who act with intent
and people who wait to be told what to do.
This post is about recognizing that gap and deliberately stepping out of it.
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