The Invisible Promotion: How to Go From Mid-Level to Senior Developer

You’ve been coding for years, but something feels off. You’re not a junior anymore, but you’re not sure you’re senior either. Titles are blurry, expectations unclear. This guide breaks down what separates mid-level from senior engineers — and how to make the leap

Who’s Really Mid-Level vs. Senior?

There’s no strict line between mid-level and senior developer, it’s not an official term. However, usually when people talk about these skill levels they have some expectations and there’s some level of agreement on what they represent, but it’s rather a scale, and it changed since the emerge of AI and role inflation. I’ll describe the real role descriptions here, not the inflated ones.

Hi! I’m Tom Smykowski, a Software Engineer with 10+ years of experience. I’ve led frontend teams, built design systems for $1B+ companies, mentored devs at all levels, and reviewed thousands of lines of code, portfolios, and resumes. I know what gets people hired — and what makes them thrive.

In the technical path we can distinguish four roles: junior, mid, senior and principal…