Junior, mid-level, and senior are nothing more than labels. Nonetheless, they provide a framework for discussing a specific role’s responsibilities. You must create teams with a blend of junior, mid-level, and senior developers.
What is the difference between a junior, middle, and senior developer?
Junior and senior developers differ in many ways. Junior developers can be older than senior developers. Labels such as junior, mid-level, or senior refer primarily to a developer’s maturity. In addition, how developers perceive their work and how they interact with peers play a significant role.
Junior developers’ responsibilities
There will be discussions between junior developers about implementing certain features in the project. The completed code needs to be reviewed by a more experienced software engineer. Especially junior developers struggle to write straightforward code, so they produce fancy code.
Junior developer skills
To find a junior-level developer, you need someone with a certain level of maturity. Here are some skills you’re looking for:
- The real motivation for learning and development
- Ready to learn from the mistakes they make
- Being able to accept criticism calmly
- Being highly committed and energetic
The best way to interview junior developers
Junior developers are required to demonstrate:
- The development cycle has been completed at least twice
- Know most of the processes involved in developing software as well as the relevant programming languages and technology stacks
- Have the ability to solve slight problems
Developers at mid-level compared with junior and senior developers
Mid-level developers’ responsibilities
Mid-level positions require candidates to be able to handle work independently. Additionally, developers must be able to comprehend business requirements into technical solutions at this level. “Technical” has been removed from Junior Developer’s definition.
Mid-level developer skills
The process of creating code requires a collaborative effort, so standardization is a must. When you understand the structure of a typical application, building it becomes relatively straightforward. By examining what makes a good implementation and what makes a bad one, we can speak about the principles of correct implementation. When it comes to developing an application in their field, a mid-level developer is already familiar with standard models and solutions and can communicate with other members of the team efficiently.
The best way to interview mid-level developers
Questions about the situation
- Assumed tasks for which no one knows how (or wants to know)
- Solving a complex technical problem, we were able to combine complexity with performance
- Came up with a comprehensive requirement analysis
- Participated in software testing and documentation creation
- Solved problems and corrected critical errors on his own
- Coordinating multiple tasks
Mid-level and junior developers vs. senior developers
Senior developers’ responsibilities
Ensuring that the right decisions are taken is a crucial responsibility of a senior developer. A senior developer writes code that is built to be maintainable and scalable. It is common for a good senior developer to solve problems even before they appear since he or she thinks about the end-point at all times.
Senior developer skills
Senior developers must be able to:
- To handle multiple complex tasks (and more quickly) than a mid-level developer
- To differentiate between good and bad products
- Understanding of technical debt
- Strong communication skills
- The ability to explain and justify any significant decision so that everyone can truly understand it
Final thoughts
Among junior, mid-level, and senior developers, there are numerous differences. Each developer possesses a wide range of skills. It may be a smart idea to hire an up-and-coming developer who shows a lot of potential.
