I'm applying for a full-stack developer job and noticed that the job posting was open to three different experience levels (junior, mid-level, and senior as per the posting). In the posting, the number of required experience years wasn't mentioned.
So, I was wondering on what basis does this level gets calculated, obviously years but how exactly? Assuming 3 years of work experience which level should I apply for?
on what basis does this level gets calculated, obviously years but how exactly?
I'm going to challenge your assertion here - "years of experience" is in many cases a terrible measure of a developer. I've worked with developers who after 10 years of "experience" are still not much above junior level and still need handholding through their tasks, and conversely I've worked with developers who after a year are taking ownership of tasks and showing more leadership skills than people with significantly more experience.
When I'm hiring, I look at the person in front of me, make a judgement on their skills, how well they fit into the role (both technically and softer skills), what potential I think they have to grow in the future, put all that into a big melting pot and make them an offer at what I think is the appropriate level. How many years they've been working is just about the least important thing I consider.
Considering 3 years of work experience which level should I apply for?
This may be somewhat harsh but if you don't know what level you're at, it's quite probable you're still at a junior level. Unless you know what skills you need to be a more senior developer, you're almost certainly not going to have them - or at the very least, you're not going to be able to convince me in an interview process that you have them.
There’s no fixed definition. In general, junior = needs hand holding, mid-level can do things on their own if not too difficult, senior = can handle any problem. So where do see yourself on that scale?
But since there is no fixed definition, you can apply, go to an interview, and see if you match their expectations.
There is no universally applicable definition. But in general it's usually understood like this:
Generally you aren't ready to be senior if you haven't worked professionally for at least 5 years. It could take longer, and some people never get there. It's all about when it's no longer a gamble for management to entrust you with responsibility.
Who would you want to be senior if you were in charge? Someone who can handle responsibility in a way that minimizes the risk to you and your organization. After all, senior staff are who you put in charge of people and projects.
How do you know someone is low risk? They demonstrate it. They show that they've been in many different difficult situations. They know the game, they know a million ways things can go wrong and how to handle those situations because they've done so. They know when to take risks and when not to. They understand and are skilled at diplomacy, office politics, conflict management, delegation--the soft skills. They've learned all this (usually the hard way), and can demonstrate so conclusively. And so they can demonstrate that they can handle responsibility without undue risk to the organization.
None of this necessarily has anything to do with technical skill, though hopefully a senior also has strong technical breadth and depth (however strong delegation can often overcome shortfalls in technical abilities).
A junior is junior because they cannot demonstrate an ability to handle responsibility in a low-risk fashion. They may be a technical super-star. Though unlikely, they could even have all the soft-skills of a senior. But they're unproven. If given responsibility, they're a gamble.
So seniority is demonstrated skill handling responsibility in a low-risk fashion. It is usually correlated with years of experience, but the two are not equivalent. It's having a proven track record that you're someone the company can count on to take on responsibility. That's what a senior is.
Numerically speaking, it's rare to be ready to become senior with less than 5 years total professional experience. The number varies by person and some people never get there, but it typically happens at somewhere between 5 and 10 years total professional experience.
There isn't really any way / scale for "experience level" in the "software industry". Why? Because it depends on several factors:
Considering 3 years of work experience which level should I apply for?
That is a matter which you choose yourself, but ultimately you negotiate it with the employer. If it is at all possible / allowed, you might even apply for all levels.
