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Vlad Dubrovskis
Vlad Dubrovskis

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What is after being a senior developer?

Photo by Sara Kurfeß on Unsplash

I have been doing web development for the last... around 14 years. Have worked with a variety of technologies, companies, projects.

Last few years have been feeling that have reached some glass ceiling in being a developer and wanted to give it a go in more leadership position which I had a chance to do. Of course the challenges where different and at some point I have reverted back to being a developer as that is known and comfortable.

However now that I am back in developer shoes realise that I want to have a wider impact than just an individual contributor and to a degree all development works feels very much the same.

What was your path after being senior developer? Tech lead? Development manager? Head of engineering? Tell me about it and how you got there. Also any advice is appreciated.

I love tech, good practices and thing that makes me the happiest is when the teams work well together, achieving goals, shipping features, support and perform well together.

I need to think about some next steps in my career and feeling a little lost.

Top comments (7)

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jmfayard profile image
Jean-Michel πŸ•΅πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ Fayard • Edited

@vladdubrovskis If you want to stay in the corporate hierarchy, you are most often expected to program less and less.

The alternative I'm trying is to become an independant software consultant

How to start?

Software Consulting: What This Really Means and How to Start

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vladdubrovskis profile image
Vlad Dubrovskis

Wow amazing article! Thanks for sharing. Something I have been thinking about as a path and this article definitely provides good for thoughts

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jmfayard profile image
Jean-Michel πŸ•΅πŸ»β€β™‚οΈ Fayard

if you like it, you would probably like the author's book: developer hegemony

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vladdubrovskis profile image
Vlad Dubrovskis

Adding to my reading list

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vladdubrovskis profile image
Vlad Dubrovskis

Finally got around to start reading the book you recommended. Only few chapters in but I am already hooked :)

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brandinchiu profile image
Brandin Chiu

If your goal is to contribute more, then your best best is to start looking at startups.

If you have an idea you think has merit, then go for it yourself. If not, find a team looking for senior developers. You will have more opportunities to create impact in that ecosystem.

Having a hard time finding startups? Try working with your local accelerator or incubator programs. It's a great way to network with future CEOs looking for resources, and it's a really interesting field that runs adjacent to technology that you may be interested in pursuing on your own!

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vladdubrovskis profile image
Vlad Dubrovskis

Heya! Very interesting insight! Thanks πŸ™