Avoiding The Classic Mid-Level Developer Trap

Welcome back to The Modern Software Developer. This month’s issue was inspired by a recent coaching client trying to define their level in the industry. One of their questions was, “How do you define a mid-level developer…?” It’s a good question that led me to think about the role a little deeper, reflect on the 100s of mid-level developers I’ve worked with over the years and produce this issue, “Avoiding The Classic Mid-Level Developer Trap”…

Introduction

There are many levels in software development, with the Mid-Level Developer being the most vague. This can lead many developers to fall into what I call The Mid-Level Developer Trap, which can cause them to lose focus, become demotivated, stop learning and growing, and ultimately end up unhappy in their job while just going through the motions, letting life pass them by.

I’ve seen it a lot and done a little bit too…

I’ve worked at almost every level in the industry during my career, and I’ve worked with countless developers, many of them were what we call mid-level.

Of course, not all job titles will include the words mid-level; it is implied by the lack of “Apprentice”, “Junior”, “Senior”, or other such words to that effect.

If your job title is just “Software Developer” or “Software Engineer”, you’re mid-level.

But that’s not much of a helpful definition, now is it?

Defining The Mid-Level Developer

Let’s start simple. A Mid-Level Developer has progressed beyond that junior status and hasn’t yet moved to senior status…

Again, probably not that helpful, but we’ve narrowed it down a little.

What does it mean to have progressed beyond junior status? First and foremost, “Junior” will be dropped from your title, but let’s take it a little further.

Progressing beyond junior status suggests that you have acquired some solid experience with your tech stack and are skilled enough to be somewhat self-sufficient. I’m not going to put a number of years on it as I don’t find that useful at all.

You’ve gone through a pretty steep learning curve, and that’s something to be proud of.

You’ll probably still harbour doubts about your abilities and knowledge, but that’s perfectly natural.

Broadly speaking, as a Mid-Level Developer:

???You’ll likely be able to rattle through various features unassisted.

???You’ll probably get a little more opportunity for focused coding.

???You have a greater awareness of the features and capabilities of your current tech stack.

???You can research and find answers to problems you don’t know the answers to.

???You’re confident enough to ask for help when needed, but you’ll already have explored several options.

???You’ve likely picked up a good amount of domain knowledge (although you don’t miraculously go back to junior if you change domain).

On the flip side, you are unlikely to have any significant responsibility.

???You’re probably not leading on projects

???You’re probably not shaping team processes

???You probably aren’t mentoring junior teammates

???You’re probably not contributing significantly to code reviews

???You’re probably not shaping patterns and coding standards for your team

???You’re probably not thinking bigger picture or contributing to architecture decisions

???You’re probably not considering Architecture, Resilience, Observability, Fault Tolerance or Scalability for your application.

And that is ok… you’re a Mid-Level Developer.

The Classic Mid-Level Developer Trap: Complacency and Stagnation

When you don’t recognise the privilege of your Mid-Level Developer role, you might fall into The Mid-Level Developer Trap.

I’ve seen it countless times, and I’ve been there myself.

You have the competence to get on with your job, and you’ve gained enough knowledge about the domain and product that you don’t encounter anything too challenging… You might even think it’s pretty easy…

You don’t have the added responsibility, stress and pressure that comes with more senior roles…

To a certain degree, the pressure is off…

For some developers, this can lead to them sitting back and spinning their wheels. They become complacent and stop learning new skills…

It can go even further; they can stop focusing on personal development and even neglect their health.

Sooner or later, they start to de-skill, and their motivation takes a dive, along with their productivity and morale.

The longer it goes on, the more trapped they feel because they don’t think their skills are up to date to allow them to get another job… and they don’t really want another job because this one is easy…

This can lead to personal and professional stagnation, not to mention poor mental and physical health…

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