10 things that made me a senior developer

[@deathbombs]

Junior = learning how to do things, what's good and bad Senior = making choices based on knowing the "what"

[@spongechameleon6940]

Thinking of features as "user problems" and not "software problems" is so powerful. My application generates qr codes in bulk that redeem products when scanned. One customer wanted the qr codes to point to random products. We could've added that feature in code, but we solved the same problem by telling the customer to just distribute the qr codes randomly. Saved everybody time and unnecessary complexity.

[@kubukoz_]

👌👌👌

[@marcosandoval7260]

"If you're not moving forward, you're moving backward". Powerful. Thank you! Congrats from Venezuela.

[@framebush9034]

its all about programming.

[@alexplom5958]

Absolutely great content and helpful concrete points. I could only add something that I have personally experienced to differentiate between "senior" and "non-senior" developers. And that is: responsibility. I believe that is the single most important trait that helps you stand out and become a great developer.

[@crystalkewe]

Such great advice Jakub, that's rarely available on the internet. Thanks for sharing mate!

[@iakobkv271]

So much information in 10 minutes. Kudos!

[@Awethon]

9:27 10/10 transition 10:46 it's like a photo stock meme but in video format 11:37 *clearly wants to take his time on sick leave*

[@kubukoz_]

The things we do for a good shot 🤣 Thanks, that transition was probably the most fun part of the editing process...

[@nromancarcamo]

I can see you’re a truly senior, I feel related with many things you mentioned, although I think it’s time to make more adjustments. Thanks!.

[@mehrandvm7343]

This video is so underrated. thanks for the amazing advice!

[@kamyarnemati]

Hi Jakub, thank you for sharing these points. It's nice to have your channel now in my favorite ones!

[@Natalicha1234]

Loved this video, thank you!

[@Grantrude]

Love this content and attitude. I couldn't agree more.

[@junglegoose4648]

Great video, great delivery, thank you!

[@MatDGVLL]

I can’t agree more with your point of view!

[@igornowicki29]

I found your advices actually useful.

[@kubukoz_]

That was the plan!

[@fernandosouza2388]

thanks for sharing your knowledge

[@flutterghana]

Thanks so much great content 🎉

[@munaar6445]

Thank you for all of these precious insights , and congratulations

[@harrisfpv]

"If you haven't had a production issue recently, read some postmortems from other companies, maybe they are dealing with problems you've never dreamed about" That is some really good advice. Do you have any suggestions on how to find these though? Feels like companies don't make that kind of documents public.

[@kubukoz_]

You just have to look 😄 e.g. gitlab is pretty famous for sharing. about.gitlab.com/blog/2017/02/10/postmortem-of-database-outage-of-january-31/

[@swattertroops-yaaa]

Discord too

[@HairOnScreen]

Great advice!

[@GuilhermeARomao]

Thank you for this content! ;)

[@hazemhatem9701]

"find your limit and stay away from it " Powerful. Thank you!

[@miklaop]

Thanks for sharing this!

[@bosnianowitzkifan41]

Great video, very helpful!

[@a_k__]

extremely useful 👍

[@Jaber_Dev]

Nice ❤

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

Hi Jakub. I always find it easy to crack interviews, but find it difficult to perform well on the job. I mean I have issues setting up estimates, or rather failing to meet them; and at times get blocked on tech issues which my code isn't introducing but getting generated by say the testing platform which is kind of dependent on others but cant get self unblocked by taking shortcuts. Or say coming up with requirements doc, along with all alternative POCs taking time. All these things in turn bring in minor releases to production. I would say these are the only reasons why I am not getting promoted, although I can churn out code pretty fast. Can you suggest how I can overcome this?

[@kubukoz_]

Hi Swagato, that's a really challenging question - I only went through a promotion process once, so I can only speak about my experience in that one instance. I would suggest that you talk to your manager about what they think about your progress, and ask whether they can get you any feedback or start the promotion process (it'll be easier than waiting for someone to consider you worthy of a promotion). In my case, I had to ask my manager for a promotion, after which he kickstarted the process and I got a quite comprehensive list of requirements. Also definitely make sure you spend enough time at one place - it may be difficult to get promoted at all if you switch jobs e.g. yearly or so. Don't be too hard on yourself, getting sidetracked about issues like testing or tooling is to be expected. With estimates it's best to err on the safe side, and also estimate on a small scale (small tasks being estimated individually). And finally, depending on the level you want to get promoted to, just producing code isn't going to cut it - delivering value can be so many other things, as I talked in the video :) you may actually want to delegate some low-level work and focus on higher-level design work if you're aiming for a senior role. I wish you a happy and clear path to promotion! Feel free to ask if you have more questions.

[@swagatochatterjee7104]

@@kubukoz_ Thanks Jakub. That really helped.

[@simon3121]

Hi, just based on your problem description, I would agree you’re not a senior engineer (yet). Own the problems all they way. If I as a manager need to tell you what to do technically (to e.g. solve a problem ‘outside’ your code) you’re not senior. Come to me with solutions and proposals.

[@florianwicher]

"Take your time, this is not a sprint." Scrum masters: "Yes it is" 😂

[@kubukoz_]

No amount of convincing will make scrum masters accept reality, or make reality accept them ;)

[@keifer7813]

Maybe that "Senior JavaScript developer" guy from the ad I keep getting should watch this

[@helixnesss]

Really wonder who downvoted and why. I really appreciated the last point: take your time, you're only human. This is super important, especially for those with constant impostor syndrome (which can be a quality in some ways).

[@darshanmukadam]

Which downvot?

[@framebush9034]

thank you for advice. Now creating something

[@gamingoutloud293]

1 thing that made many devs to seniors: Time. Not the skill.

[@kubukoz_]

It's time and effort, frankly - you can do your job for as long as you want but you won't advance unless you try ;)

[@gamingoutloud293]

@@kubukoz_ i missed one word "Sadly not the skill" ;)

[@MdnightOne]

"This is not a sprint" How ironic.

[@kubukoz_]

Only ironic if you like Scrum 😂

[@wanteed273]

staz w comarchu i lecimy

[@Olafisoyem]

if it doesn't get to prod you will get no money.. very true!

[@rickythebird9584]

Good content, but I have to rewind a few times while watching as a nonnative English viewer. Especially at the beginning of each point, just cannot read the topic and the subtitles at same time. Thanks for sharing.

[@kubukoz_]

I had to retry every sentence a couple times when recording so I guess we're square 😂 tbh every time I watch any part of this video, I feel like I should be speaking much faster - glad someone has a different feeling :) thanks for watching!

[@jaaguitar]

Pragmatic people are rare in our industry. Working with OCD people is one of the most miserable parts of software development.

[@kubukoz_]

To this day, I still try to curb my perfectionism 😭

[@AndrewErwin73]

I am sure the manbun had something to do with it!

[@AndrewErwin73]

But all seriousness aside... good content. I have been a freelancer for almost a decade. I don't even remember what it is like to work in an office environment.

[@ingloriouspancake7529]

Microphone should be closer

[@kubukoz_]

Yeah. It's better in more recent videos :)

[@Polly10189]

Step #1 : Buy dual monitor with a great headset .

[@kubukoz_]

One monitor is enough, this isn't joma tech 😃

[@wchen2340]

what does thinking in terms of "senior" and "not senior" aka "junior" does achieve? id say ... data loss.

[@kubukoz_]

It achieves promotions, pay rises and sometimes even a change in the level of responsibility you feel :) Levels are useful. They are hardly consistent though, and one company's senior will be another's staff engineer.

[@cloakrabbit767]

The most important thing about being senior is to say edgy jokes