Developer Roles & Levels Explained

An overview of different web developer roles, levels, and specialties after working as a professional software engineer for over 10 years.

View the video presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwUjEzfLZV8

1. Brett Ch a lup a , 2021 Developer Roles & Levels Explained From Front-End to Full St a ck a nd everything between
2. Hey! This is all based on my own experiences and is highly dependent.
4. • Well-rounded • Works on the front-end and the back-end • Maybe a little bit of ops and infrastructure • Lots of areas to grow in, more on that soon
5. • Focused on the user experience • Web (HTML, CSS, JS); apps! • Relies on back-end devs for API & data • Not too concerned with ops
6. • Focused on the data & APIs • Back-end languages • Database • Background job processing • A little bit of ops
7. • Hosting • Third-party services • Scripting • Uptime & monitoring • Networking • Making sure the apps work • Scaling (at certain levels)
8. Levels
10. • Just getting started; fi rst job • Needs support & guidance • Capable of getting things done w/ help • Not thinking too much about big picture • Slower expectations • Getting bearings of the tech & biz needs
11. • 2~5 years experience • Can work on something from start to fi nish • Code may not be the most performant • Sometimes gets caught by edge cases • Starting to think about big picture
12. • 5~10 years experience • Mentors teammates • Catches performance & edge case issues early • Writes high quality code • Works pretty quickly • Taking on tasks that they know need to get done • Contributing to big picture convos
13. • 10+ years experience • Technical leader • Vision for where tech can go • Combines business needs w/ tech needs • Mentors all teammates • a.k.a. Lead, Sta f
14. Specialties
20. Many more!
21. Where to start? Front-end! Visual, can quickly iterate, dive deep from there. But also follow your interests too.
22. The best teams leverage strengths and encourage focused growth.
23. How to Level Up
24. You’ll learn on the job, without doubt.
25. Find a mentor internally or externally.
26. Work with your manager to create a growth plan to hold you both accountable.
27. Intentional learning and specializing can help you grow more quickly.
28. You’ll likely have di ff erent phases in your career, and that’s great!
29. Thank you & happy coding!