This is a wonderfully written post packed with hard-won wisdom.
This are the myths that Monica dispelled for herself:
- I’m a senior developer
- Everyone writes tests
- We’re so far behind everyone else (AKA “tech FOMO”)
- Code quality matters most
- Everything must be documented!!!!
- Technical debt is bad
- Seniority means being the best at programming
I like Chris’s list of criteria for the nebulous role of senior developer:
- A senior front end developer has experience.
- A senior front-end developer has a track record of good judgment.
- A senior developer has positive impact beyond the code.
- A senior developer is helpful, not all-knowing.
- A senior front-end developer is a force multiplier.
This is relevant to my interests because I think I’m supposed to be a senior developer. Or maybe a technical director. I’m really not sure (job titles suck).
Anyway, I very much appreciate the idea that a technical leadership position isn’t just about technical skills, but also communication and connectedness.
When we boiled down what we’re looking for, we came away with 12 traits that divide pretty cleanly along those three areas of responsibility: technical capability, leadership, and community.
For someone like me with fairly mediocre technical capability, this is reassuring.
Now if I only I weren’t also mediocre in those other areas too…