Seniority in the Tech industry: A regional and international perspective

What does "seniority" actually mean in the tech industry ? Is it just years of experience ? Is a "Senior" in one company a "Senior" in another ? Our careers are often defined by the "professional bubbles" we live in, leading to many myths.

This talk will debunk those myths by providing a broader context for your career plan. We will contrast the common career ladders found regionally in Latin America with the structures at large international companies.

Transcript

1. Ica Seniority in the Tech industry: A regional and international perspective Bruno Aybar
2. https://bit.ly/seniority-industria-tech
3. In this talk we will learn by debunking myths Ica
4. "Seniority" Given level within a given company
5. You start here Role 1 Career Ladder Role 2 Role 3 Role 4
6. You start here Intern Career Ladder Junior Semi Senior Senior
7. Myth #1: There's an standard career ladder in tech Ica
8. Company 1 Practicante Career Ladder Junior Semi Senior Senior In ours it's different 󰳕 󰠁
9. Company 1 Career Ladder Intern Junior Senior Company 2 ``` `` ``` `` 󰳕 󰠁
10. Company 1 ``` `` ``` `` Company 2 ``` `` `` 󰳕 󰠁 󰳕 Career Ladder
11. Company 1 ``` `` ``` `` Company 2 ``` `` `` 󰳕 󰠁 󰳕 󰳕 󰳕 󰳕 󰳕 󰠁 󰳕 󰠁 Career Ladder
12. Ica Myth #2: At least now I know the most usual career ladders.
13. Our knowledge is bounded by our own professional bubbles
14. Company 1 ``` `` ``` `` Company 2 ``` `` `` 󰳕 󰠁 󰳕 󰳕󰳕 󰳕󰳕 󰳕󰠁 󰳕󰠁 Career Ladder
15. Career ladder 2 Career ladder 1 Career Ladder
16. Career Ladder
17. It's impossible to know every reality…
18. It's impossible to know every reality… but don't limit yourself to your most immediate ones
19. Currently: • Senior Engineer @ Shopify • Technical Coach @ Deep Skill Academy Previously: • Principal Engineer @ Encora • Technical Coach @ Talently Bruno Aybar
20. +100 interviews as interviewer
21. +40 mentees as mentor
22. the ones i know now Career Ladder
23. Líneas de Carrera the ones most think they know
24. Líneas de Carrera the ones they really know
25. Company 1 ``` `` ``` `` 💻 Company 2 ``` `` `` Career Ladder
26. Company 1 ``` `` ``` `` In 5 years, my goal is to reach this level 💻 Career Ladder
27. Company 1 ``` `` ``` `` 💻 Company B ``` ``` `` ``` `` ``` `` ``` `` Career Ladder the one that could have been a better fit
28. "Learning from others' experiences helps, otherwise you'll stay comfortable where you are, as the market is constantly changing and the levels are very diverse." - someone in the community
29. Give you a better context so that you can start defining a more fitting career plan for you. My goal with this talk
30. Agenda 1. What's seniority? ✅ 2. Myths about career ladders ✅ 3. Importance of expanding your horizons ✅
31. Ica Mito #3: El seniority cambia dependiendo de la región.
32. 1. What's seniority? 2. Myths about career ladders 3. Importance of expanding your horizons 4. Regional vs international career ladders 5. Variables that can mold a company's career ladder 6. Recommendations to grow professionally Agenda
33. Regional career ladders Ica
35. Intern Junior Mid Senior
36. Practicante Junior Mid Senior Semi Senior Ssr "Developer"
37. Practicante Junior Mid Senior Junior Advanced Mid Advanced
38. Ica Myth #4: I'm Senior - now I can get that role anywhere else.
39. Engineer 1 Engineer 3 Engineer 5 Engineer 2 Engineer 4
40. Engineer 1 Engineer 3 Senior 2 Engineer 2 Senior 1
41. When you jump between companies, titles are not always transversal
42. Intern Junior Mid Senior Can we associate titles with years of experience?
43. Ica Myth #5: Seniority depends on years of experience.
44. Practicante Junior Mid Senior ≈1 year ≈3 years ≈5 years
45. Practicante Junior Mid Senior ≈1 año ≈3 años ≈5 años Use it as a guide, not as a rule
46. Intern Junior Mid Senior ≈5 years What's beyond Senior?
47. Myth #6: I reached my ceiling when I became Senior Ica
48. Intern Junior Mid Senior Arquitect? Subject Matter Expert? Staff / Principal?
49. International career ladders Ica
50. Individual Track - Focused on technical leadership - Usually, no direct reports - Communication skills become more important
51. Individual Track - Focused on technical leadership - Usually, no direct reports - Communication skills become more important Manager Track - Focused on people management - Technical proficiency is important but not the key skill - Communication skills become even more important
52. Junior Mid Senior Distinguished Staff Principal Individual Track
53. by Sarah Drasner https://career-ladders.dev/engineering/ To know the expected responsibilities per role
54. To compare roles across companies Levels.FYI
55. Junior Mid Senior VP of Engineering Engineering Manager Engineering Director Manager Track
56. To compare roles across companies Levels.FYI
57. Both paths are becoming the norm regionally and internationally … ¿pero porqué funciona así?
58. Now you have a slightly better perspective. … ¿pero porqué funciona así?
59. Now you have a slightly better perspective … but why does it work that way?
60. Ica Variables that can mold a company's career ladder
61. Variables that can mold a company's career ladder 1. Location a. City b. Country c. Continent
62. 2. Industry a. Traditional software development b. Gaming c. Security d. Automotive Variables that can mold a company's career ladder
63. 3. Org size a. 1 - 10 (startups) b. 10 - 100 (startups, scale-ups, consultoras, etc.) c. 100 - 1,000 d. 1,000 - 10,000 ("big tech") e. +10,000 (tech giants) Variables that can mold a company's career ladder
64. 4. Business model a. Service provider ▪ Agencies ▪ Consulting companies b. Product focused ▪ Startup ▪ Big Tech Variables that can mold a company's career ladder
65. 5. Hiring market a. Career ladder as a recruiting strategy b. Career ladder as a retention strategy Variables that can mold a company's career ladder
66. 6. Technical standards of the company: a. Expected skills per level ▪ Do you know the agile methodology we use? ▪ Are your communication skills good enough for this role? ▪ Have you ever mentored someone? b. Expected knowledge per level ▪ Testing? CI / CD? Algorithms? ▪ Expert in a given technology? Variables that can mold a company's career ladder
67. 7. Company's expansion plan 8. Political games within the company 9. Leadership style 9. And more... Variables that can mold a company's career ladder
68. Identify your context. No todo está en tus manos - prioriza de acuerdo a tus objetivos.
69. Identify your context. Some variables are out of your hands. Prioritize based on your goals.
70. Tips to grow professionally Ica
71. Tips to grow professionally 1. Become more technical a. Read and write more code. b. Master the fundamentals. c. Learn new best practices. d. Explore new technologies. e. Develop your technical judgment.
72. 2. Be more informed. a. Read articles, books, etc. 3. Get out of your bubble. b. Join tech communities. c. Attend events like this one. d. Learn from other people's paths. Tips to grow professionally
73. 4. Face different kind of challenges a. Work in bigger teams. b. Work in smaller teams. c. Get involved in processes that you don't master. Tips to grow professionally
74. 5. Be a better communicator. PLEASE. a. Write more. Write better. b. Read more. Tips to grow professionally
75. 6. Learn English. PLEASE. Tips to grow professionally
76. 1. Books a. "The Manager's Path" by Camille Fournier b. "Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track", by Will Larson c. "Software Engineering Guidebook" by Gergely Orosz 2. Blogs / Newsletters a. "Pragmatic Engineer" by Gergely Orosz b. "Lead Dev" by LeadDev Additional resources
77. Survey: Mobile Devs Salaries in Latam 2023.
78. SAVE THE DATE October 26th, 2024
79. Ica Seniority in the Tech industry: A regional and international perspective Bruno Aybar