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5 traits to go from Junior to Senior Software Engineer

Jenesh Napit on January 22, 2024

The difference between a senior and a junior goes beyond years of experience. The way you think and work changes. I’ve narrowed it down to 5 traits...
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Ndeye Fatou Diop

Very nice article! I would also add a focus on impact : always working on the most impactful project :)

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Alireza • Edited

Nice, focus on the impact of tasks and doing meaningful tasks(the task that have impacts on revenue or user experience) is very important

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Jenesh Napit

Great point Ndeye! Working on impactful projects will get you seen and make you an impactful engineer naturally, haha.

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András Tóth

I would add "Don't waste time on the wrong thing" which means "discuss the feature in-depth with designers/product managers before starting to work".

This is an attitude about participating in feature creation as a partner, instead of just doing what they say.

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Jenesh Napit

Spot on. Team work isn’t about taking orders, everyone should have the safe space to voice their opinions. But it’s also up to the developer to speak up and add to the communication.

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Olabamiji Oyetubo

Would you consider the ability to teach others also as a trait?

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Jenesh Napit

Yes, this is a great trait, but it is not a primary one you should focus on. Your technical skills and traits will be more to get to Senior. Along the journey, you'll have opportunities to teach your teammates and maybe even the broader org.

Teaching what you learned is a good trait and will make you a knowledgeable person in the whole org.

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Olabamiji Oyetubo

Agreed

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Adesoji1

Meaningful

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Melvin_Edoja

Nice point man!

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wilko

as some one who is currently a junior developer, this is quite a good list of things i should work on to become a senior developer

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Jenesh Napit

Thank you and best of luck in your career!