How Do I Become a Senior Developer? What Is the Difference Between a Junior and Senior Developer?

At what point do you become a senior developer? What do I have to learn to become a senior developer? What is the path to senior developer? How do I know when I am a senior developer? In this video, I am going to answer your questions about becoming a senior developer.
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[@johnnydev8014]

As a software architect who leads a team, my definition is - *independence*. Senior dev is someone who can "own" a feature and navigate though problems to make it work end-to-end. Junior and mid-level need more or less tutoring and guidance. Seniors get the job done. Period. Practice that one skill - getting the job done, independently. Be persistent, focused, relentless. That saves me time.

[@IAmTimCorey]

That's one aspect of it, yes.

[@joedimajo407]

I never received any guidance in all aspect of my jobs. The only point is to have a better wage with a safe position. Anyway, how they can help me, they are not able to study a little bit. Sorry, if you are not enough good to achieve a bachelor degree in computer science, you are too dump for thinking. The only thing about working is money, not more. Don't search someone able to help you. You let them alone playing the super senior coder, but never forget something, I am a software developer because I had 99% at school, nobody likes me and don't have something behind me. I can read and write a specification. If you sleep a little bit, I don' t stop much more. I don't want to be a senior, I want the budget for my teams. I will be much better. Playing senior if you want but I don't care.

[@incarnateTheGreat]

Independent is one thing, but they still need to ask people for some things.

[@maiksonstrife]

Speaking like that may make me a senior, but it's not true, in a real world scenario on a big enterprise, teamwork and know how to work as a team is much more important than knowing what to do, I'm making my application by my own, I'm rarely using StackOverflow instead of simply navigating libraries , and yet, I'm lacking the knowledge to know if my code is actually readable for a team, if I could work on a great company, I gonna want to restart as a junior to learn better how to work with actual people by my side than taking the lead by my myself as if I am the only one that matter and fuck everyone else.

[@LCTesla]

I wish my boss thought the way you do. He hates it when I make any decision without consulting him. (Yes I am look into ways to get out of here)

[@Eric-lq9fr]

Thank you Tim, these videos are really addressing all the issues I am and have experienced throughout my developer career. Its great to know I am not alone and even an expert still experience these issues.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@placideirandora7405]

Thank you for the description of a senior developer. It's now clear to me for what I have to do to become one!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Glad it was helpful!

[@brianm1864]

I've always found that senior developers not only have the experience, but are using that experience with the team to help architect new systems or add new functionality to existing systems. Giving your opinion on architecture and backing it up with sound reasoning (based on your experience), even if it's ultimately not what the team decides to go with, can help show that you're a leader that's ready for a senior position. I'm always pushing our junior developers to take charge and give architecture opinions, and not just leave it to the senior level developers.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Great advice.

[@mazdaqshahzad7696]

It's amazing how questions in my mind are being answered every Thursday.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Great!

[@valdecirsouza8962]

Great info! I am Learning C# and your advices are great! Many thanks from Brazil!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Great to hear!

[@Dame4Lyf3]

The 2-5 build application idea is SOLID, and definitely put you in the jr. developer mindset, for me, always learning and be hungry to try different things. great advice

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks!

[@hemantkul1188]

Hi Tim, I would appriciat if you make a video on "How to become an Architect from a Software Developer"?

[@xphoenixaurax]

Me too!

[@damianhelizanowicz2686]

Me too!

[@officialspock]

same

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@DasturlashniOrganamiz]

And as always many thanks to you! Today's content was very useful!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@Minecrafterrrr1]

Brilliant video :) You helped me a lot with your videos to get my first C# internship. And by making videos like this i will stay with you through my way to a senior Dev. Thanks a lot ☺️👊

[@IAmTimCorey]

Awesome!

[@mhmrezaramezani4777]

Thank you for the description. It cleared me. Now I know my position and what's my approach.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@hungerface6362]

Awesome video! You're so wise and humble!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you so much!

[@kayumiy]

Thank you Tim. You are the best.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are very welcome.

[@nuwanandra5153]

Thanks for the valuable information!.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@claude.detchambila]

Thanks, Tim for your guidance

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@demps1bm1]

Excellent, excellent video from Mr. Corey. OK, some things on this topic that are pretty important. This business of a "senior developer" only comes along after a technology matures. In the 1990's when I started with the first beta version of active server pages, which is those days was an ISAPI extension in Visual C++ to IIS that a guy at MicroSoft built apparently for fun, there was no such thing as a "senior developer" in modern software. "Senior developers" in those days were mostly COBOL guys (and gals) on the mainframe. The only other "senior developers" worked for computer companies such as MicroSoft, Symantec, Borland or the big guys -- IBM, Unisys, and HP. JAVA was developed by SUN (a unix workstation maker -- it stood for Stanford University Networking) to automate videos on the web through something called Applets (no one has written these in years.) JavaScript was a new language invented by Netscape (which ceased to exist years ago.) But now that web technologies and mobile techhnologies have matured, this business of "senior developers" has become a hot topic again. So what is a senior? A senior developer is someone who knows a given code base and is able to work independently without any help. Whether that person is a kid out of college or a thirty five year veteran doesn't make any real difference. Frankly, kids out of college have a big advantage. When I studied computer science in the 1980's no one discussed design patterns and object oriented programming had yet to be invented. Many kids out of college know more about this stuff than I do, as these are hot topics of computer science. The big thing here is that managers have a confidence level with seniors -- they trust them to get the job done. I am a senior where I work, but I might be little more than a junior anywhere else. It is truly difficult for anyone to come into a place and function immediately as a senior, and that is why there are so many jobs for senior developers -- there are lots of ways for a senior to fail in the first few days. Every place of work has its own culture and its own way of getting things done. It just takes time to adapt, but very few managers want to wait -- they want someone who can come in and do the job and be productive from day one. In my experience, that is hard for anyone. Right now design patterns are the hot item. A couple of years ago it was algorithms. The bar keeps getting higher and the reason for that is that there are not many jobs. Companies can afford to be picky about who they hire because the candidate pool is so large and the number of jobs are so small. In the old days, you could get a job if you could spell JAVA . . . So my advice is don't go into IT/Computer Science unless you love programming. Learn what you can and at least be patient with yourself. Realize that you cannot be great at every job out there because you cannot know everything.

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

Thanks for sharing. Much appreciates insights.

[@TheBausahab]

Love you sir..Long live... thanks for every word...

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thank you!

[@TheMostafa5000]

Gereat info , thanks Tim

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@muthabukujohn5089]

Thanks pal. You're awesome. 👍

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@rotacioskapa4251]

Social skills are also important, even if you have seen everything in c#, you still need to be able to convince people why they should listen to you, and to be able to prove your point

[@mauricioyemimartins4392]

Really nice video. Thanks a bunch!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@HenrikRClausen]

Thanks for yet another fine and useful video. I've watched a lot of yours by now. Then, I believe there´s very important area that you did not address here, that probably deserves a new video: It's about human interaction in a development team. That's large. Being still a junior developer (I did a complete career restart at the age of 55), I am working at a software development company with some 30 developers, many of them in outsourced locations, and with a fairly complext amalgam of technologies. Lots to learn here! Then, what I found was management paid attention to a lot of tings beside the direct ability to write good code. They notice who picks up the slack in the process towards releases, who is good at noticing potential problems, who have the habit of encouraging and teaching the team members, and (not least) who masters the collective process of tasks, pull requests and other aspects of project manaments. In short, catches and propagates what Business needs. Here, I found that general life experience matters. It matters to not put down your colleagues, it matters to put the team interest highest, it matters to be a Good Guy in everyday life. And of course being able to learn more, all the time. So I encourage you to do a video about seniority and the understanding of teamwork.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@SuperBabysongs]

Tak. Lige præcis...!

[@CyberAbyss007]

Thanks Tim! Great video. I'm also on my 2nd decade of web / software development. I landed my current senior dev role at a start-up but they ended up needing an everything guy so I just became whatever they needed. They threw everything at me from Salesforce to Excel Macros then became their site reliability engineer for C# MVC customer portal being developed by offshore team. 4 years later, I'm now on multiple teams supporting C# MVC applications. Yes, your development experience may very. LOL

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep, that sounds typical for a startup. Thanks for sharing.

[@kalaiselvanra]

If only HR people see this and posts description relatively. They want senior developer with 2 years experience for price of dozen tacos.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yeah, that is a problem.

[@davidcopperfield2278]

yeah well, thats not the fault of the HR people, that's called capitalism and its lunatic followers who think "not fixing wages by law" is the best way to go

[@brianviktor8212]

@@davidcopperfield2278 - No, that's not called "Capitalism", that's called incompetence, bad expectations and bad offers. Capitalism is when you have choice. Socialism is when you don't. You seem to be very juvenile, and I'd advise you do inform yourself about basics of economy. Look up some Libertarian books or videos - do not inform yourself about Capitalism from its greatest enemy - Marxist Socialists. They are wrong, it's that simple. Their views have no merit because they are rooted in falsehoods, misleading framings and radical simplifications.

[@adamromero]

​@@brianviktor8212One of the most moronic comments I've seen on KZbin in a while, nice job. 👏

[@iKranthiG]

Thanks Tim!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@Spinikar]

Great video Tim. I have now professionally 1 year development under my belt, but over 10 years of IT experience, and In my role I'm not considered a Junior. Not classed as a senior, I'm just a mid-level I guess you could say. I had a lot of experience for example with SQL before hand, so then learning to write code that uses SQL wasn't that hard. Knowing just the language I find isn't everything, but how you use it to accomplish a task is more important. And yeah, I have much to learn, but I know enough that a quick google search gets me past it.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep, learning the language is just the start. Learning how to apply it is the hard part.

[@charlesschneiderp]

Great approach! I think another aspect is delivery. How much you deliver, what you deliver and the quality of what you deliver.

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

I believe that is significant as well.

[@mirragemelkyr]

Great video Tim, "practice" that's the hardest to master keyword in every aspect of life. By the way where did the weekly challenges series go? I had not see it here anymore.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Working on it! Stay tuned, as soon as I can find time.

[@refactorear]

Thanks for answering this. I'll send people to this video whenever they ask me again about this. I'd mention that usually recruiters consider someone senior when they have 5 or more years of experience with a technology. However they make a difference between someone who has 5 years of experience in a single company and someone who has 5 years of experience in 5 different companies, in this last scenario some may not consider you a senior because you haven't gone deep enough... ...which might be a good question for you, would you recommend staying at a single company for a minimum amount of time before leaving even if you aren't totally comfortable with it, or would you recommend just switching companies as soon as possible if you don't like your coworkers, the location, the payment, the technology, etc? How do you think recruiters look at your resume when you list 6 or 7 jobs in 3 years and should we care about it? Thanks as always, regards

[@PaulBilton]

I've passed on hiring perm developers when I've seen that they have jumped around a lot. Contractors it's somewhat acceptable and expected. There is no hard rule about this, especially if you just don't like the job (been there), but be careful about how you could be perceived etc. Remember, what doesn't beat you makes you stronger!...

[@IAmTimCorey]

Ideally, give a position some time. If you jump around a lot, it makes it look like you aren't that good of a developer (like you represented yourself as one thing but could not deliver so you left the role) or that you are easily dissatisfied. Neither is a good look. If you have 7 jobs in 3 years on your resume, I would very clearly explain why you left each job and how you have learned for the future. Otherwise it can be quite scary to consider hiring you.

[@lucycai3356]

I like your videos! Actually, I have ten years of programming experience but unfortunately, I am still at best a middle level. Thanks for your help, and I will continue working harder.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Keep up the good work. You are probably more advanced than you think.

[@lucycai3356]

@@IAmTimCorey thanks Tim. I am curious why when I use c#, I have to ensure there are no errors in my project so I can run, but Java doesn't require this. I tried to figure it out by searching the web, but it seems I haven't arrived at the useful keywords. Any suggestions? Thank you so much.

[@SelfReflective]

You remind me a lot of Louis CK's sober brother

[@Knorv]

Louis CK + Kevin James = Tim Corey

[@IAmTimCorey]

lol thanks.

[@mohammednhari1737]

Good adevices for devloppers as like for recruiters!!! Thank you

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome.

[@mousaladkani2102]

phenomenal content

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks!

[@kinsondigital]

I also think that a Senior Developer should encompass not just experience but also the drive, intent and implementation of continuous improvement in the practices, effeciency, listening and communication skills as well as collaboration with your team. Basically I think it is more then just how much code you have written, but also how you manage/deal with people.

[@IAmTimCorey]

That is true.

[@antoniomarcos5664]

Hi Tim, in other words, practice, practice, and practice with focus on the technology we are right now. But adding more skills, like architecture and a good knowledge business could be the other path to complete this jump.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep, both have value.

[@andrewshwets1316]

Thanks Tim, everything you say makes sense :) I understood one thing, if you want more promotion - you need to change your job.

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome

[@riacharda]

I'm thinking of changing career from UI designer to front-end dev. I've been designing in large corporate companies for 10 years and I've become fed up of designing static interfaces. I'm technical and barely use critical logic in my daily work. Every time I use prototyping tools and code, my eyes light up. The point you made about experience is also valid in the design industry. We also have the same challenge. Many designers get stuck at the mid level role. It's not easy becoming a senior designer. Companies require you to have lead a design project from start to finish; yet, senior - lead (perm and contact) designers get those opportunities. Reading between the lines, senior designer roles require you to have worked in an agency or have freelance experience working on multiple projects. Other than that, craft, knowledge, soft skills, facilitating workshops, certifications and presentation skills help push the needle. Thanks for making this video. It was very informative!

[@IAmTimCorey]

You are welcome. Best wishes on your career shift.

[@DasturlashniOrganamiz]

Dear Mr. Corey, observing your channel, I have concluded that you manage your time well (e.i read and answer all comments, release videos according to a schedule, etc.) Can you please make a video about time management as a developer: what are you recommendations to manage the time to achieve higher productivity as a c# developer? Good luck!

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@sudidav]

Thanks, Tim! Experience + continuous learning + applying what I have learned professionally.✌👌👍. I had a question. If you were to recommend a C# book to read, which one will it be? Thanks again!!

[@PaulBilton]

I've been a developer for a loooong time and I would highly recommend you read this book... amzn.to/30Eoq7z It will teach you coding against interfaces and a best practice approach to writing testable code, which in itself leads to better quality code. Give it try, you'll thank me!! Good luck

[@sudidav]

@@PaulBilton Thanks for the suggestion.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I don't have great C# book recommendations (for learning C# itself). If I had to recommend one book for you to read that will make you a better C# developer, though, I would recommend Finish by Jon Acuff ( amzn.to/3f9VUjh ). While it isn't a developer book, it is a book that will help you identify how to complete what you start, which is a big struggle with developers.

[@arvi8843]

Got promoted to Senior Developer while I'm not aiming for it since I'm just a year into the company as Mid Developer. Totally unexpected. Here to check the reasons why as tenure in current company is not a factor. Thank you!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Congratulations!

[@carlosalarcon2737]

What about the personal skills? In my opinion one of them is : ego. Throw away your ego. Listen, learn, teach. (Iterate on this). Many thanks for your video!

[@IAmTimCorey]

It is great if you can keep your ego in check for sure.

[@snailer12]

I agree very much with your statement here. However I would also suggest that new developers surround themselves with other experienced developers. This way you can measure your own progress and better define at what level you should be. If you constantly need help from the other developers, you are clearly not a senior developer (which is fine, you'll get there eventually).

[@IAmTimCorey]

That is good advice.

[@stewarthyde5111]

As always you have well timed video, recent interviewing opportunity I had was Blazor development, even thought have 30 years of senior level development and proven problem solving in many areas, I have no actual Blazor job experience and company want actual Job experience. I have done a bunch of GitHub projects and also Visual Studio Extension but I am curious how you get over this stumbling block.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Well, that's ridiculous since Blazor Server just came out last September. It has been out for less than a year. At most, you could have about 9 months of actual job experience if you started day one with it. That's just a problem with the company. Build a demo site in Blazor and show it off next time. That will hopefully get them to listen.

[@stewarthyde5111]

@@IAmTimCorey Well as always your timing is perfect - last night I started working on a demo that will use what I learn and actually can be used. It planned to be completely visual and I will used Bootstrap Studio for designing the UI and if necessary make any corrections to my Bootstrap Importer which by the way source is on GitHub now.

[@PerryGrewal]

love this video

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks!

[@lancelee922]

Thanks for making a video on this. I am a web developer currently on my 3rd year. What you are answering is more to working experience. I myself are planning to take masters in software engineering based on coursework program. As a programmer, does master certificate now still have value? My coworkers keeps telling me that master certificate for programming doesn't make sense as all those can be learnt from working experience. But, what i am thinking is, those software architecture, project planning subject will help me become a senior at a faster rate. Hope you can share some insight on this.

[@DJosh-cs5vx]

My advice would be to take a specialization which uses programming instead. I am c# programmer. Most universities in Germany now offer engineering course along with Informatik (information technology) as it called in German. Rather study a major along side IT. That's what most companies are seeking

[@IAmTimCorey]

A masters degree can be of benefit in that it makes you sound like a better developer. And you should get better developer training in a masters program. However, it will depend on who is doing the hiring and what they look for. A masters degree is not work experience. Until you have a few years in development, you won't be considered for a senior developer position and even then, work experience typically trumps education.

[@pierreplourde]

While I’m new to C# (becoming a student of Tim last July), at 48, after starting with an honours BSc in chemistry, having been a commercial pilot for five years then a lawyer for 14 years, and now a NetSuite Administrator and SuiteScript Developer for the last two years, I would say the real difference between a mid-level developer and a senior developer would not be the C# skills necessarily, but rather the project management and team leadership skills.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks for sharing.

[@mattgraves3709]

I have only about 5 professional years but 12 total years developing software. Some of that time I learned jack squat, other times a 3 month proof of concept shoots me light years ahead. I really wish we had a better way to measure our skills vs competitive programming. I think my application architectures are waaaaay more important than inverting a binary search tree out of memory lmao. Anyway, I finally broke into the Sr developer position with over a decade of coding experience. I had 3 years as a developer consultant doing end to end implementations for huge companies I gained leaps and bounds interfacing with seemingly different data stores daily...I gained decades over that 3 years It's so subjective.

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

You are right, its so VERY subjective but sometimes that can work to your advantage.

[@Free_Ross_William_Ulbricht]

Tim Corey for president!!!

[@IAmTimCorey]

lol, I'm good where I am at, but thanks.

[@iammachine1]

Awesome!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks!

[@nucasspro1]

Thanks for your video. I'm a junior at desktop application area for about 1 year and our projects are about maintenance or building new applications for Japanese. But only using signal to communicate with other servers or devices, no database, no web, and maybe no 3rd libraries. So I'm looking for a new job with .net web application, because too hard for getting a new well-paid job for desktop app area. So, could you share your think about the opportunity for web and desktop jobs at this time?

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@michelchaghoury870]

hy tim awesome like always. how you always give me responses to my questions. i want to tnx you. please can you do vidoes on how to host you website on azure and can you do data structures and algorythms videos. and please can you do videos on mobile apps

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add them to the list. Thanks for the suggestions.

[@in4theride75]

An expert is someone who has made or seen all the mistakes and knows how to avoid or fix them; a senior dev is an expert.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Close enough.

[@paultumbaco5300]

Hi Tim, I know it's not related with the video but I'm having a question can't find a good answer, I want to copy a list of references types and some ppl use iclonable interface other ppl use constructor, some ppl uses some code for deep copy I would like to know how you do it ? Or any advice in this case ... Thanks Tim

[@IAmTimCorey]

I'll add this to the suggestion list. Copying objects is a tricky subject and one that will take a full video to cover well.

[@TheJessejunior]

hey tim.... what do you think about f#? i´ve studied that a lot and it seems really great, but when it´s time to aply a get a lot of erros not shown in the demos and I fall back to the great c# world

[@IAmTimCorey]

It is a great language for some specific uses. It isn’t a wide-use language like C# though.

[@johncraig5979]

Hey Tim. I got a question unrelated to the subject of the video: Do you know of any resources on how to add a blazor wasm or server project to an already existing Api? I ask cause I am building applications based on Steve Smith's core architecture and wanted to add blazor client to the overall architecture.

[@giovani5586]

Well can you create a separate project which will communicate to the existing api trough blazor httpClient ?

[@IAmTimCorey]

You would want to create a separate project. That’s the beauty of an API - you can connect to it from other projects. You don’t want to mix projects together if you don’t have to.

[@johncraig5979]

@@IAmTimCorey I may have made my original question too vague and need to specify my question that I need to see how to connect the two together for communication to one another, as adding a new project separately isn't unknown to me.

[@johncraig5979]

@@giovani5586 right, that's what I am trying to research materials on.

[@mohammeddabbour949]

Amazing video as always Tim,it is hard to find good software company in my country (that pays good) and it is even harder to find stable job so i work as freelance, can a freelancer developer become senior developer too without working for a software company?

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yes. In fact, freelancing can make you grow even faster to the senior level.

[@PanikGrafik]

My company has kept me as a junior dev for 2 years, even though I've always worked mostly alone, in my own projects (with no senior as support etc)... im guessing I should look around huh 😄

[@IAmTimCorey]

Well, even a junior developer might work on their own. The key is to continue to grow and improve as a developer. Continue to evaluate how you could have done a better job on a project. Over time you will grow. Now if no one is evaluating you, that can mean that you will grow beyond what they are paying you for. In that case, you need to have a conversation with your boss about how you can get to the next level. That's a good conversation to have either way. Find out from them what they want to see from you before putting you at the next level. Then try to do that.

[@michalzelinka6848]

IMO reading blogs, whitepapers, ebooks etc might help you aswell in gettin experience...coz obviously u cant work on every project and face every issue...and these things are there nicely explained and solved

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

Thanks for sharing that.

[@karlos1974]

I think it's knowing what functions are available in the header files. Takes a long time to get to know them all.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Knowing what is available in .NET does take a long time.

[@StefanKo1224]

I had curs on my faculty on c, c# and java. Right now i have curs on desktop app on c#, but what we learn on faculty is not enouht, and i will like to upgrade my knowledge, i watch many of ur videos. I know many about object oriented programing, and i can make litle applications on c#, like to do, and more what we do on faculty. But what next will i learn?

[@IAmTimCorey]

This is the path I recommend learning C#: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gobZY2OHrb2dnNk

[@Notverygoodatall]

Tim Corey is my best friend.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad my content has been so helpful.

[@Algedibarrios]

Hi Tim, greetings from Florida, I am a C# developer and I would like to know your opinion about this affirmation: "A good developer must to know a lot of programming languages to give more solutions." Because technology advance every single day and only the people who find the best way to adaptation are the most valuable, even you can see that in the evolution of species. What do you think about that? I really what to know your point of view. Thank you!

[@IAmTimCorey]

Nah, I'm not a big believer in that. As you grow as a developer, you will naturally pick up languages to supplement your main language but I don't agree that you just pick a language based upon the circumstance. Not really. Companies or people who pick different languages for each situation end up with a mess. It is better to specialize in a main language whenever possible.

[@davidalderman3881]

I think a good question would be how valuable are certifications and where do I start.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@wootwoot8754]

So, switching companies as a software developer based one one main technology(like dotNET) more often(every 2-3 years?) will give you a much bigger experience on how things are done across companies, teams and bring you closer to seniority much faster than working on a single project in a single company

[@IAmTimCorey]

Possibly but possibly not. Staying at one company can allow you to grow deeper into the language and the application(s).

[@Patriqu]

@@IAmTimCorey or stuck in obsolete technology.

[@cloud77hot40]

Hey Tim Corey, I want to be a web developer/iOS developer. I only know some C#, winforms, and have work a bit with SQL server. With all these different programming and development technologies kinda feels overwhelming, and I don’t know what to get. What do you think should be learned and in what order for web development and iOS development?

[@Jel.Awesh.M]

In my opinion you should primarily focus on one of those technologies. I am web developer if you pick up Web Development you will have to learn the basics (HTML/CSS/JS) and choose any framework, that might be .NET since you already have some knowledge of C#, it would be a good start.

[@cloud77hot40]

Je'l Awesh Medrano Great! Should I learn the basics in that order?

[@Jel.Awesh.M]

@@cloud77hot40 Correct! HTML and CSS for static web pages and JS for dynamic pages. Also try to get to know with web concepts, here you can find a list of must-read lectures www.fullstackpython.com/web-development.html, I know this says Python but it can apply in most cases regardless of the framework.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I recommend learning C# well first (here is a path: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gobZY2OHrb2dnNk ). From there, you will know how to develop for the web using C# and you can further specialize. You will also be set to start learning Xamarin, which will allow you to develop for mobile. Both Xamarin and ASP.NET Core are powered by C# so learning C# will advance your skills in both areas.

[@cloud77hot40]

Je'l Awesh Medrano wow thank you! I can wrap my head with the language syntax of c# but web concepts are just so unknown and different. Thanks for the link. Any other advice?

[@geraldsonperez6287]

I have a web api that whenever I learn something new I go and Implemented there, Do you think this is a good approach?

[@IAmTimCorey]

It is always good to practice what you have learned.

[@zarokoshin4090]

Hello Tim, I’ve been watching practicing with your TimcoRetail Manager Course ( Awesome lectures btw BEST C# TEACHER ) I was wondering if it is a good idea to implement dependency injection in the class library? for example for the sorry if i missed it... and thanks for your awesome content 👏

[@namelastname4077]

DI is almost always a good idea. Google this "new is glue"

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yes, I recommend using it in the class library (we will eventually).

[@zarokoshin4090]

@@IAmTimCorey thanks you for your reply and looking forward to it ! :)

[@LCTesla]

You're painting a very positive picture of consultancy but in my opnion there is a big downside to it in terms of personal growth: it doesn't force you to take responsibility for your work on a +/- 5 year timeframe. Someone else gets to clean up your mess if you did things wrong on that scale. Sometimes it takes that long for problems to materialize.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I'm not sure what I said that gave you that impression, but I'm not JUST positive about consultancy. It absolutely does grow you as a developer, since you work on many different systems and see different ways of doing things. It pushes you to grow more than a "regular" job ever will. However, yes, there are downsides. Not staying with code long-term is a big one, although I don't think it is quite as big of a deal in most cases. First, a lot of issues will come out pretty soon after launch. Not all of them, especially not the insidious ones, but definitely a lot of the functional and performance issues. Second, not all contractors build something and then immediately leave. I had quite a few contracts where I built a system and then helped maintain it over a number of years when I was a consultant. Those organizations also tend to be long-term customers so even if I wasn't coming back to that particular app, I was coming back to the organization. I would hear if there were issues with the previous app. I think there are a lot more downsides to staying in one position (or even a couple) instead of being a consultant. For instance, I've worked in multiple organizations where developers stagnated. They didn't grow and change because they didn't need to. In fact, when change came, they would leave and go find another position like their previous one because they didn't want to do things a different way. With both types of jobs, there are downsides but there are also big upsides. You also have the opportunity to maximize the upsides and guard yourself against the downsides no matter where you land.

[@paragraut3504]

Hi Tim, I’m currently struggling with this dilemma of “what to name myself ?” . Am I a beginner junior c# developer? Or am I already a medior c# developer. As I’m working in a big enterprise as test automation engineer in c# since 5 years, but in meantime I learned a lot of development and applied it to create 3-4 web applications which helps business a lot. And since this June I’m officially a developer in same organization, where they see me and my skills on par with a senior developer. I cannot consider my self junior as I can do a lot better than junior or one, but according to this stupid industry standard (counting experience only with years) I’m a junior. Can you help me resolve this situation?

[@CoffeeToCode11]

My two cents here, I was struggling with almost the same, the parameters used for seniority in a company I worked were: level of independence (If they give you a full feature are you able to do it by yourself?), the second parameter is code efficiency (code reviews here are key), the third one is time frame (how close are your estimations to reality?) and lastly development lifecycle (SDLC) hope that helps a bit, good luck

[@paragraut3504]

Andre Alexander hey Andre thanks for the thoughtful reply, in my case I’m able to deliver features/user stories on my own since beginning and code reviews which are done by senior developer also results in very less adjustments if needed, but as for your third parameter I do agree that right now I cannot perfectly estimate timeframe to deliver certain stuff as it’s pretty new to me, there I think my experience will help me. Thanks again Andre

[@IAmTimCorey]

That is tough. Every company views things a bit differently. The key is experience, though. The reason why people ask for more years of experience for senior developers is because you have seen more and done more. I'm sure you learned a lot building those 3-4 web applications. Imagine how much you will have learned after building 30-40 of them. That's what companies are looking for. A person who has learned all of those lessons.

[@paragraut3504]

IAmTimCorey That’s very logical indeed. As a developer now I’m learning something new every day and I thing collectively that counts at the end.

[@wendyslittleprogram3984]

Hoping to become a junior dev in the not so distant future. My biggest fear is getting found out for not knowing something super basic!

[@IAmTimCorey]

We've all been there. Don't worry. Even if it happens, it probably won't be a big deal. Just be honest about it. Don't try to pretend you know something you don't.

[@wendyslittleprogram3984]

IAmTimCorey thanks dude, you da man!

[@lifeisgameplayit]

With all the respect : shut your mouth Tim when saying there are areas that are not your strength , we don't believe you :D . You are the superman guru of coding here on youtube ;} and I bet elsewhere as well . Jokes aside , I love your vids . You do such a great job of making content that still valid and easy to consume even after years of time

[@IAmTimCorey]

lol thanks!

[@chidii]

Is there a video on Unit Testing?

[@IAmTimCorey]

The first two videos in this search result list: kzbin.infosearch?query=unit%20testing

[@GG-uz8us]

Same as Ceremony vs Essence

[@IAmTimCorey]

What part?

[@KennethLongcrier]

A lot of time, the difference between a Jr. Developer and a Sr. Developer is the experience required to transform the skills you have learned to accomplish a completely different task.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Yep.

[@joeballer4036]

as a consultant, which area of C# do you get the most work for?

[@IAmTimCorey]

It depends on how you position yourself. You determine how people will see you.

[@joeballer4036]

@@IAmTimCorey this means in terms of ability to find work as a consultant and full time job opportunities, there won’t be much of a difference between being a specialist into C# ASP .NET Full Stack vs being a specialist in C# Cross platform (iOS & Android)?

[@batulthegreat179]

I prayed to my 33 types of God's. And your chanel came in recommendation . Now you are my guru.. ☝🙂🔥

[@IAmTimCorey]

I am glad you are getting value out of my content.

[@Max-ui5gc]

1:04 you're welcome

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks?

[@mtwguj]

Every one who is from the culture where the practice is to ask theoretical questions about different programming/development concepts and who conduct interviews and watching this video, remember the words: "Its not about a test, how much you study, its about how much you apply". So just stop asking theoretical questions about programming/development concepts to a candidate for a sr. dev position having more than 8 or 10 or 12 years of experience, instead, give a scenario and see how he/she would solve the problem. That would give an idea how much the interviewee has gone through in his/her professional career. There has to be a difference between professional job interview and academic viva-voce!

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

I love the point you are making. As a job coach, I would share the following with my students, 1) Remember the an interview is about exposing what you know so focus on THAT, not what you don't know. 2) Think a bit like a politician, they use the questions asked to get across the message they want folks to hear. They ask about a theoretical topic, answer telling them the work you have done related to the topic and how you used that to solve a specific problem.

[@mtwguj]

Exactly my point! I've seen so so many bright developers getting rejected in those viva-voce styled interviews just because they couldn't answer according to the text book (if you know what I mean). Secondly, those cultures (since I come from such a culture) need to understand that its NOT about being right, its ALL about giving it a try!

[@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597]

@@mtwguj We can all agree the hiring process is flawed as is. I believe the BEST answer is for candidates to get to know people in the companies thru networking, like via LinkedIn and meet-ups, build relationships so you can be recommended for positions when they open up by other employees. You can still have jerk interviewers, but you still have an edge.

[@ahmedelgendy5363]

I am Senior Developer in Some Areas and I am Junior Developer in other areas. fantastic answer my prof. this is Really the Sort Answer.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Thanks!

[@Nnjaaaaaaa]

how long does it take for someone to be a senior developer?

[@ej1635]

It really depends on where you live, the company you work for and your skills as a developer. I have seen people with "only" 3 years experience become senior devs so..

[@IAmTimCorey]

There isn't a set timeframe.

[@blackisblack22]

I used to be a senior developer but in this country cheap developers are preferred only so that the developments last as long as possible to last in the positions. Here it has never been about skills but about keeping the crabs inside the bucket.

[@IAmTimCorey]

That's an unfortunate situation (not just for you but also for the customers who are getting applications developed by those cheap developers).

[@mihaimyh]

Hi Tim, I see everywhere on .NET jobs posting requirements to know old technology like WebForms, WCF, while teachers like you are guiding to new ones like Blazor, gRPC. Since enterprise are reticent in moving to new tech and they are looking for .Net Framework skills, why are you teaching new stuff which no one is asking for?

[@IAmTimCorey]

It isn't that no one is asking for it. In fact, a lot of people and companies are asking for it. The key is that you need to learn about the older stuff as well. There are a lot of resources on the net for the older topics and there are great books on those subjects as well (since they have had time to come out). There isn't that same level of information for the newer topics.

[@MrAbugaarith]

How much syntax do you need to see not to code anymore...and tell others what to do...a developers dream :)

[@IAmTimCorey]

A developer's dream is to stop coding and start managing? Hmmm, that wasn't my dream.

[@DalTron001]

What are the downsides to freelancing?

[@IAmTimCorey]

I will add it to the list. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@raresiova5546]

When he said "might know 80% of C# syntax" I was done with the video... That's a huge percenteage eve nfor a senior.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I think the confusion here is on the word syntax. Syntax is things like if, for, foreach, etc. It is not .NET libraries such as System.Data. There is not an incredible amount of syntax in C#. The word "know" also doesn't mean "memorize". Knowing means you know it exists and can look up how to use it when needed. Finally, 80% means 80% of what you will ever use. Hopefully that clears things up.

[@raresiova5546]

I was considering syntax keywords alone. I doubt anyone knows anywhere close to that. There's plenty of obscure niche keywords such as "stackalloc" or "sbyte". Besides that, I have to be honest, I agree with most that was said.

[@ismailkounta5492]

I personally don't like the intro bro but I like your videos

[@IAmTimCorey]

I understand. Thanks.

[@petermanger9047]

I'd argue a senior developer often knows LESS syntax than a beginner.

[@IAmTimCorey]

lol probably true.

[@serialkiller504]

How do you become a senior dev? Proclaim yourself as one. And then fake it until you make it 😁

[@IAmTimCorey]

That can actually work sometimes, but be careful because skipping steps can lead to a lot of stress in your life.

[@vortex5244]

First

[@IAmTimCorey]

I hope you enjoyed it.

[@higherpurpose1212]

Thank you very much for clarifying this, Tim. I hav 15 years of developer experience, but 8 years of C# and SQL only. I've been with my current company for 13 years and we maintain, add features and functionality on one large-scale company system and several small ones, some of them legacy using asp.net and a couple of ASP.net MVC. I've created most of the WCF services and created REST services that integrates our system with third-party vendors, BUT I don't consider myself a senior-level developer. No, far from that. I've been browsing for new roles lately but when I see senior level developer roles I skip since I don't want to embarrass myself nor dupe the hiring company by padding my CV and pretending to know so much. I have so much stuff to learn, and if there is one company that would hire me for the salary that I'm being paid now, or maybe just a tad less even if the job position is a junior developer but will allow me to grow and learn with the team and get to implement new technologies, I'll be happy. I've seen senior level contractors being hired to work on some projects in our company, but TBH, they just padded their CVs or maybe trick their way to the role, since they don't know much from the couple of guys I've worked with, they just happen to have NO IMPOSTOR SYNDROME and their view is to apply for roles that is a bit above their pay scales because they said they will learn the stuff anyway. For me, I just can't do it, I want to hit the ground running on day one if I get hired, so maybe by applying for mid-level roles won't have that high expectations that you know so much as to lead a team.

[@kristiyanivanov7414]

I think Senior interviews focus on "how would you do/implement X?" instead of "do you know what Y is?". Shoot your shot man! All they can do is say "no".