Hello, I'm Beopjung Kim, a server development team lead at Delivery Hero Korea. In our work lives, we often naturally use certain terms to evaluate and categorize individuals. Today, I want to talk about one of those terms: junior versus senior.
The reason I'm writing about this topic is that I've recently started leading a fairly large team. While recruiting new team members, I encountered diverse opinions and realized that people think about this differently. The process of organizing these thoughts was quite impactful.
Colleague 1: "You have three openings on your team. How are you going to structure it? Three seniors? Or one junior and two seniors?"
Colleague 2: "What work do you expect from a 3-year developer?"
Colleague 3: "The candidates are so underprepared. Let's only hire full-stack seniors from now on."
Colleague 4: "Isn't that person still not quite senior material?"
As an interviewer conducting developer hiring interviews, these conversations with colleagues all came together as one theme for me.
'What experience and abilities make someone a senior?' 'In organizations like ours that emphasize equal work distribution among all team members, is there a specific role for seniors?' 'Am I considered a senior by their standards?'
Every time I asked myself these questions as an interviewer, I felt exposed. I even wondered, 'Is this time spent thinking actually useful?' It felt skeptical and draining.
You Only See What You Know
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like I understood something but couldn't articulate it specifically. So I started asking everyone I met what they thought.
Question 1: Can you define the role difference between juniors and seniors?
Question 2: Can someone with over 10 years in the same industry be called a senior?
Question 3: If a candidate has full-stack experience and is confident in that role, are they a senior developer?
As I searched for articles and information about seniors and juniors, I was able to organize what people commonly think of as "senior":
'The knowledge expert who provides optimal solutions based on broad knowledge depending on the situation'
'The problem-solver who somehow resolves even the most difficult challenges, whether through their own efforts or external help'
'The master who executes various tasks quickly through extensive experience and know-how'
I resonated with these because I had vaguely thought the same. But as I wondered if there was something more, my wife happened to ask me something, and I posed the same question to her.
Me: "What role does a senior play at a company?"
Wife: "When I was young, I was clumsy at work and didn't know much, so I was just busy getting my own tasks done. I didn't even look at team matters that didn't directly involve me. But now I have more breathing room, and when I make choices or do certain work, I think first about whether it helps the company or the team. Recently, I was passionately explaining the reasoning and validity behind such decisions to junior colleagues. I was... kind of like an old-timer, haha."
Me: "Wait~ are you saying this assuming you're a senior?"
Wife: "^^"
Someone who can lead and guide juniors through extensive experience in related work is a senior. Someone who can respond appropriately to emergencies or difficult situations with broad technical knowledge is also a senior. But after hearing my wife's answer, I started wondering how many of them can confidently say they work with ownership.
'Then am I working with ownership in my company life?'
It was a somewhat embarrassing day as a fellow working professional in front of my wife.
Beyond the Meaning of Words
"Senior as a team member"
If we define senior by this standard, we can answer the questions I listed earlier. The team wanted to hire a full-stack senior because they needed someone to rely on for areas the existing team members couldn't fill. And perhaps I didn't see a candidate as senior because I personally couldn't learn anything from them or receive any inspiration.
Through conversations with many people, I reached this conclusion: interestingly, people commonly think of seniors as those who understand their pain points in their work and can address them—people who have at least one thing they're better at than me and from whom I can learn.
"Senior from the company's perspective"
Each company has various cultures. Even our company has different working atmospheres on each floor. Through the conversation with my wife, I concluded that seniors play a central role in creating that culture, and their ownership is the company's greatest asset and weapon.
Of course, ownership isn't a virtue only seniors should have. But considering the influence seniors' actions have on juniors' work methods and values, the weight is clearly different.
For example, just as showing children that you read regularly is an effective way to build their reading habits, I believe seniors should take the lead in shaping attitudes toward work and the company atmosphere.
I believe that when individuals with ownership gather for meetings, true dialogue—not just one-way communication—becomes possible. Through those many conversations, creative ideas and problem-solving methods emerge. And I want to believe that companies notice those who speak up and engage in dialogue.
In Closing
When I first started writing, there were many similar articles, and I was lost in fog from the beginning since I couldn't pin down the topic. But my wife's timely words helped, and I was able to wrap it up. It was good (?) and meaningful to do deep reflection and self-examination throughout the writing. I'll keep working on this too, but to all the juniors and seniors reading this: I hope you become owners, not replaceable parts, and enjoy a more fulfilling and rewarding work life. Thank you.
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