Career Path Guideline 👻

Software development happens in your head. Not in an editor, IDE, or design tool. Learning new skills and new technology is critical to your career, and it's all in your head.

Table of contents

• Developer Seniority Levels
  • Roles
  • Competencies
  • Salary
• Learning Path
  • Recommended learning resources
• Performance Competencies
  • Description and competency indicators
  • Targets for yyyy
• Recommended content
• Under construction

Developer Seniority Levels

Roles

Technical Track - 1	Technical Track - 2	Stages (Dreyfus Model)
Trainee	Intern	/
Junior Developer	Software Engineer |	Novice Advanced Beginner
Intermediate/Mid Developer	Software Engineer ||	Competent
Senior Developer	Software Engineer |||	Proficient Expert
Solution Architects | Technical Lead	Principal Engineer | Engineering Lead | Software Architect	/
Managerial Track
Team Lead	Engineering Manager	/
Head of Development	Director of Engineering	/
Upper Management, C-Level	CTO	/

Axes

Project Impact | Scope

• Results directly driven from the project, which include key business metric improvements, new use cases, functionalities enabled, etc.

Engineering Excellence | Technical Impacts

• The technical contribution towards building high-quality products and services, helping teams work effectively, and delivering production excellence.

People | Teamwork

• Mentorship, collaboration, conflict resolution, recruiting, and internal community building.

Direction

• Vision, roadmap, goals, project management, and initiative.

Areas of growth

• Specific strengths you want to leverage
• Areas where you can improve
• New experiences you'd like to gain

Competencies

Trainee		Scope / Responsibilities	↓↓↓
No work experience Theoretical knowledge of programming	Little to no exposure to real development	Follow	I NEED HELP
Junior Developer
Through trial and error 1-3 years of work experience Close supervision Need context-free rules Code-focused Learn as much as possible Explore every part of the solution	Overlook the big picture Do the least complex tasks without much impact on the final product Motivated and energetic Able to work in a team Listen and absorb all information from others Constantly ask for feedback and advice on how to grow	Task-Level Assist	I AM BECOMING SELF-SUFFICIENT Take this design, and implement it. the problem is known, the solution is know : job is to execute
Mid Developer
Workhorse of the programming world Over 3 years of work experience Focus on a piece of the puzzle Little to no guidance Mostly write routine code Troubleshooting and debugging Take on as much work as possible Focus on going deep in one or two areas	Business knowledge (business domain) Actively collaborate with the team Initiative and resourceful Providing estimates on tasks Mentorship for juniors Make mistakes, understand what went wrong, learn from it Get sh*'t done	Project-Level Apply	I AM SELF-SUFFICIENT AND IMPACT MY TEAM Vague requirements? Design, and implement them. problem is known: job is to define the solution and execute
Senior Developer
Problem-solver 5+ years of work experience Able to self-correct A broad range of experience Knowledge converted to intuition Mentorship Become a great leader Know how to work with clients Focus on providing value, not output	Team's workflow coordination Understands the business value behind the product Foresee the issue and resolve it before it happens Long-term vision in terms of the project Good soft skills Understand every aspect of the solution Know how to get the most out of your team	Team-Level Enable Group-Level (several teams) Ensure & Advice	I AM IMPACTING OTHER TEAMS A problem? Break it down, get it solved. Problem space is known, job is to identify the problem, define the solution, and execute. Principal engineer: In your org, choose the most critical goal, and identify how to make progress.
Engineering Manager
Little to do with programming and is all about people skills: inspiring, motivating, leading 10+ years of work experience Be a role model for less experienced engineers and coach them to reach the next level of professional software development Partner with sales team to develop innovative solutions that meet business needs Performance Reviews and KPI's for all the employees Recruitment of new colleagues Ask "Why?" and be prepared to be asked, "What do you think about it?"		Organization-Level (several areas) Initiate & Influence Company-level Set Strategy, Inspire & Mobilize

Salary

Seniority Level	Company - 1	Company - 2	Company - 3	2022	Bonus
Intern Graduate Associate	0 - 500	0 - 500	L1: 700 (9m+)	500	/
Junior	500-800	500-1000	L1: 800 (1y+) L2: 900 (2y+)	700	/
Mid	800-1300	1000-1500	1100 - 1800 (3y+)	1000-1300	Surprise moments Performance Bonus
Senior	1300-2000	1500-2500	1800 - 2100 (5y+)	2000	1 salary per year ∑12(5..10)%*Salary
Lead	2000-3000	1500-2300	2100 - 3000 (8y+)	2500-2800	∑12(10..15)%*Salary Profit-Sharing (% of salary and % of profit) Budget for Car
Head	/	/	/	/	Stock Options (part of the company) ∑12(20..35)%*Salary

Learning Path

Recommended learning resources

0. UML
1. SQL Database programming
2. 55320: Programming with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
3. JSON
4. Programming in C#
5. Developing ASP.NET Core Web Applications
6. Agular - SPA
7. Ionic - mobile/tablet
8. Azure, AWS, Firebase
9. Git & GitHub
10. Microservices
11. DevOps
12. QA
13. Security
14. Kanban

Performance Competencies

Performance Ratings - Levels

1. Marginal Contribution
2. Needs Development
3. Proficient
4. Outstanding

Description and competency indicators

1. Knowledge and Expertise
   • Technical Knowledge
   • Business Domain Knowledge
2. Quality of work
   • Results Delivery
   • Independence
   • Ownership
3. Teamwork
   • Relationships and Collaboration
   • Participation and Contribution / Team Activities
   • Team Norms
   • Assistance and Support
4. Communication
   • Expression and Clarity
   • Mutual Understanding and Comprehension
   • Reliability, Promptness, and Consistency
5. Planning and Organizing
   • Activity Planning
   • Activity Prioritization
6. Flexibility and Adaptability
   • Openness and Adaptation to Change
   • Coping under pressure
7. Professionalism
   • Policies and Instructions Compliance
   • Cultural Fit
   • Service Orientation and Commitment
   • Confidentiality and Discretion

Targets for yyyy

1. Projects
2. Modules
3. Courses (Udemy, pluralsight, ...)
4. Books
5. Presentations
6. Certifications

Recommended content

• Pragmatic Thinking and Learning: Refactor Your Wetware
• Organizational Behavior

Under construction

• Docs can be found on the project wiki page