When you are valuable and ask for a raise but they cannot give the amount expected because it's already Q4 so they give you the senior title instead.
It can happen even with two years of experience.
It can happen even with two years of experience.
If someone like Donald Knuth would be forced due to economic circumstances to join a trendy web start-up, he'd be a junior working under a twenty-something senior with little more than some Javascript and MongoDB knowledge. The whole thing's silly, really.
I've been working (professionally) in this industry since I was 16 years old, I got my first job as a junior after tinkering with computers since I was 8 years old. At the age of 23, I've found it very difficult to earn the respect of the people around me because of my age.
I have the title of senior developer because I've had experience working on scalability issues and complex service based infrastructures, but many of my peers who are my age and recently graduated university and are still in their first junior roles often act like I haven't earned it - despite me graduating with a part-time degree in software engineering (okay, it's not computer science, but I'm still glad I did it.)
My point is that while age is generally a good indicator of knowledge and ability, it's not the be-all-and-end-all.
If you are adding value, you're doing it right. You are either a cost center or a profit center. Be the profit center and you will never want for a job.
I'm almost 50 and still in the game. If I'm honest, I still worry from time to time about being irrelevant, but if I'm still adding value, and I am, then what the other IT people around me think doesn't matter. Add value, learn as you go, gain in wisdom and understanding and you will always be cash-flow positive.
Don't make the mistake that so many do that you have to be working on something cutting edge or popular. Those jobs are nice, but I've learned--at least for myself--that I prefer the maintenance jobs. I enjoy taking something and making it better, even if it's just a quick fix, like two lines of code. Own everything you do. Be proud of your work.
You're still young with plenty of time to get where you will be going. Don't be in a rush to "prove yourself" to anyone but yourself and the man writing your check. Don't listen to naysayers, don't get trapped in the mindset that only the new, darling languages are worth investing in. Good programming skills are not language specific. Learn what you can. Use the correct tool for the job. Don't be a method man. Be the profit center.
It's also worth noting that the term "software engineer" isn't regulated here, while other engineering titles are.
No they aren't. Unlike in Canada, you can give yourself any title without actually having a license in that profession, as long as you aren't being fraudulent in your claim.
Just be wary of thinking you know it all, this applies to everyone, regardless of age or experience.
But another 5 years later, you notice how little you really knew. You become really senior at 10+ years. Just like the hype cycle.
To play devils advocate, why wouldn't Donald Knuth be the junior given that scenario? In that position he may actually know less relevant knowledge than the junior. I mean many startup/crud apps don't require advance algorithmic knowledge, more front end dev and ability to deliver relevant business value. I wouldn't expect that junior to join knuths team and be put in charge, why should we expect the reverse? Given time yes, If Knuth is more intelligent he could become better at startup relevant work, then he should be more "senior" not before.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/firm-specific-human-capital
A misapplied case of carrot and stick; using the carrot to beat you down is not how it works!
The company I work for has made more than a couple big sales in December from this phenomenon. Sometimes they never even deploy the software.