"Senior Software Engineer" is a title with a beautiful ring to it, and it's one that every software engineer aspires to. Top-notch senior engineers are incredibly coveted by tech companies, especially Big Tech, as there's simply not enough of them. With the massive rush of people into tech during the pandemic, the median software engineer is now Mid-Level. If you are Senior, you are special.
However, the Senior Engineer promotion is brutally difficult, especially at FAANG. There are so many engineers struggling with Meta E4 -> E5 and Google L4 -> L5. Amazon SDE 2 -> SDE 3 is notorious for being the hardest senior promotion in the industry with engineers taking up to 10 years to make the jump.
So why is this level up so frustrating, being the first promotion 95%+ of engineers really struggle with? It's because Mid-Level to Senior is the first promotion that requires a fundamental dynamic shift, which this course thoroughly breaks down. By the end of the course, you will:
- 💡 Truly understand the **difference** between a mid-level engineer and a senior engineer
- 🧠 Have the right **mindset** to behave as a senior engineer
- 🛠️ Identify your **technical gaps** to senior engineer
- 📃 Figure out your **fundamental gaps** to senior engineer
- ✅ Define a clear **roadmap** to senior engineer
After going through all the lessons here, you will have the necessary tools to become a high-performing senior engineer at a top tech company like FAANG. This promotion is particularly exciting as senior is when doors start seriously opening up for your career, with the primary one being the option to become an engineering manager!
Overview
Syllabus
- Overview
- How This Course Works
- Why Is The Senior Promotion So Hard?
- At A Glance: Mid-Level Vs. Senior
- Structuring Your Growth
- Finding The Right Team
- Impact
- The Goggles
- Take Greater Ownership
- Fill In The Gaps
- Engineering Excellence
- Code Quality
- Code Review
- Debugging
- System Design
- Direction
- Just 1 Sentence Is Enough
- Work Towards The Team Goal
- What's The Plan?
- Project Management
- People
- Meetings
- Build A Strong Internal Network
- Onboarding
- Mentorship
- Senior Project Case Studies
- Instagram Ads Testing Tool
- Instagram Ads Survey Cleanup Workstream
- Conclusion
- Plot Your Growth Journey
- Go Deeper: Follow Through
Taught by
Alex Chiou