Re:Ask HN: What made your business take off that you wish yo...
by urthor on Tuesday February 15, 2022 @05:50PM
(#30353962)
Oh well that's fine.
My brain just operates very strictly as:
Junior = apprentice, first job or similar.
Mid = journeyman, "worked another job before". Independent, trusted to be delegated to for specific things, but doesn't quite have a personal brand.
Senior = Master. Proven track record, proven reputation of delivering, capable of leadership inside a technical project. Has and maintains a reputation as someone you can trust.
Principal = Mentor to seniors.
Ofc there are shades of grey between junior and mid, because junior-ship takes like 2-3 years to grow out of.
The list of work able to be delegated to someone at the start is not all that large in many cases.
I would consider "junior" here not as a person in non-critical role who cannot function as an individual contributor, but as a solid candidate that lacks industry experience but can be at the moment hiring be expected to quite fast grow into the role of a solid IC. I.e to use a bit too stereotypical characterization - not a "stablehand" but a "journeyman apprentice".
At the moment of hiring you don't count on it that they can deliver (but guess and hope), whereas the seniors will have shipped products under their belt.