I sadly agree, I have seen standards of senior developer which make sense to me but even the orgs whom wrote them do not apply them evenly.

In the past year I saw way too many intermediate/senior engineers almost hired as staff.

But you have to be pragmatic, man. I don’t give a damn about titles… unless companies have salary ranges according to them. If company X pays Y for the Senior Engineer I role, and pays Y+Z for the Senior Engineer II role, you bet I’ll sell myself as the latter even if there’s little difference between the two roles from my perspective.

I don’t tell my colleagues/friends /family that I am a Senior Engineer II, I tell them that I’m a programmer. Now, on my CV and to recruiters I say: Super Senior Software Astronaut III, so pay me more. Obviously in the interviews you have to fake it until you make it, but when you have been in the industry for more than 10 years like me, faking interviews to fit whatever expectations companies have it’s not that hard.

Very true, comp is likely the most level-set comparison (at least within the same geographic area and industry).