Becoming a mid-level engineer is a technical problem. It requires learning more.
Becoming a senior engineer is a judgment problem.
Senior engineers do not necessarily write faster. What they do differently: they identify which problem to solve before solving it. They distinguish "this is hard because we are doing the wrong thing" from "this is hard but it is the right thing." They know when a prototype should stay a prototype.
Judgment is built through exposure to the consequences of decisions. This is why seniority cannot be compressed: the decisions take time to produce their consequences.
Work on systems in production with real consequences for failure. The feedback loop from real-world consequences is what builds judgment.
— Dick Bassey | DevDick | 2024