Coding skill and seniority are mutually exclusive
Why the word “Senior” in my title made me want to go on a coding course mania.. just to prove for my self: I am as better as any young coder
If the sub heading sounded silly… read on
It is an unavoidable and soul shaking experience when you realize that its been just that many years in the industry. When you see that name card of yours have a small additional text that was not there for all those years. A recognition they say for your experience and contribution: the level of competence.. suddenly your a “Senior” software engineer. Drop those sneakers, pizza and t-shirts! Kid, you just became a senior member of the organization, well one of the many seniors of course. When I got the title, the feeling was the same as reading the start of “Tale of Two Cities”. It felt good, its always nice to be remembered, to know your moving among your peers, but right at the back of my mind it was in panic mode.
Why panic? Panic because the realization that I have been coding for so many years in a professional setting! One thing we do know is how fast moving the technology landscape is. How the word “disruptive” is trending and the chaos it leaves. Because your experience of languages X,Y and Z are completely irrelevant in today's world. If you can't know the future or understand it, you are doomed. If you can't learn that the younger generation of users are far different than the geezers you use to write software to, that the decision makers today work on iPad and smartphones, you might as believe the earth is flat. I am not just talking about coding skills.. coding is just one major part of your day to day activities as a Software Engineer. There is system design, UI considerations, process think over etc etc…. and here is the catch: In today's day and age you need to think differently as well.
So is being “Senior” completely irrelevant? No, its not. However, what matters is how you apply all that was learned throughout the years in a team that builds a product. Do you hog the most exciting work for yourself? Shout down junior members, ridiculing every bit of ideas that come? Here is the thing: With your experience if you can't figure out if an idea you just heard float by a younger member is better than what you had, then bravo you just wasted your time and the organizations you have been working for so many years. I realize that there will always be more better coders out there, coders that might still be even going to school.
I realized as a “Senior” Software Engineer, one better learn more about the new ideas and coding that’s going on. If my experience is to be of any use, I need to be able to compare, analyse one design decision with another effectively. I need to be more open to listening to ideas from the new generation of software engineers whose way of thinking might be wildly different that my own. I realized I need to be humble. Coz being a senior Software engineer is not a badge that tells others I am a better coder, its just a sign I have been at it for many years. Guide the new coders to understand the business of software, why some coding needs to be done to a certain way and use the damn experiance you got.
To those who think there is a positive correlation between seniority and coding… While it might be true that coding ability improve with time, it's nonsense to believe you suddenly have super powers because you're a senior member of a team. If you believe so, then all the code you have written for the past 10 odd years should be a complete piece of !@#!.
Here is my simple action plan: Keep on learning, be humble (meaning not a douche bag), keep your ego in check, be a mentor and part of the team, not become the team.
