So you want to be a senior developer?
I was told once by a good friend of mine that a senior developer is one who has a firm grasp on the basics and the ability to find any answer they are faced with. I have always agreed with this assessment, but I would also like to propose a list of characteristics any senior developer should exhibit.
- A Senior Developer needs to be a leader.
Anyone assuming the role of senior developer must usually wear the hat of team lead. If you aren’t a natural leader you may not be suited to the job. Team environments have a tenancy to be dynamic and full of varying opinions. If you are easily mistaken for a door-mat then more often than not your team will fail in their efforts. Don’t dispare though, this is an area where you can overcome. Next time you are browsing on-line for the upcoming conferences, find a leadership seminar and give it a try. It may not be as interesting as learning about Yukon’s new XML Data Type, but I guarantee your career will flourish.
- A Senior Developer needs to be a teacher.
So how did you get to be a senior developer in the first place? Most likely you studied hard, got that first job, had someone take you under their wing and show you the ropes, and faced lots of challenging problems in the school of hard knocks. Now that you’ve reached the level of Senior Developer, you must take someone under you wing and mentor them passing on the vast knowledge you’ve accumulated. Mentoring/teaching does several things, first it helps the Jr Developers to grow in their profession. This is beneficial to you because when the Jr Developers under your charge grow and exhibit professionalism then your projects will succeed more often. This will make you look good. Finally, mentoring also helps you by reinforcing the skills you already know. I’ve found that nothing you can do will give you a deeper understanding of something than when you have to put it into words to share with someone else.
- A Senior Developer needs to be compassionate.
Do you remember what it was like to start your first job and have a total paralyzing fear of being good enough? OK, so maybe you aren’t obsessed with your inadequacies the way I am, but being a Jr Developer is hard. You want to look like you know what you are doing while trying to figure out what you are doing. Senior Developers need to be understanding and help to guide them through this difficult time in their career. Be supportive, be helpful, and be forgiving. I’m not suggesting that we carry their load or hide incompetency, just that we look for strengths and build upon them.
- A Senior Developer needs to understands customer service.
Customer Service is king. And who is your client? Well, it’s the company you work for as well as the company(s) they work for. It is anyone who is involved in the flow of finances that eventually find their way into your account. Nothing is more damaging to a company or an individual’s career than poor customer service. We need to treat the client with respect. We need to understand the clients needs. We need be responsive to the clients requests. We must be polite and must never criticize their ideas. Remember that by your actions you are are as much a salesman as you are a developer.
- A Senior Developer needs to understand the technology.
Never stop learning. Yes, we need to understand the technology that we’re working with, but as you’ll noticed this is the last item on my list. Why is it last you may ask. There are two reasons. The first goes back to my opening statement that a senior developer must have a firm grasp on the basics and the ability to find the answer to any problem they are facing. The second is that as almost no-one becomes a developer unless they already have a love for the technology. Most of us spend great deals of time reading, studying, and playing with the newest beta releases of all the tools and components. It’s who we are. However, with that said, if you have become stagnant in your growth nothing is more important for you than to updating your knowledge.
There you have it. My list of must have characteristics for a senior developer. So do you feel up to the task?
[ Originally posted at http://www.devauthority.com/blogs/dbalzer/default.aspx Get your own blog at http://www.devauthority.com ]