What does Senior mean to you? (Job Titles)

Please note: I am referring to senior in job titles. I am not referring to "Senior Member" in these forums.

I seriously ask this question because I do not feel "Senior".

THERE IS SO MUCH THAT I DO NOT KNOW!

I would really like an explanation.

Thanks.

Find more posts tagged with

Save $250 on 2025 certification boot camps from Infosec!

Book now with code EOY2025

Button

Comments

darkeries

ive seen so many people in here post 1 year or 2 years ago saying they dont know what they are doing,
and 1 to two years later they THINK they are seniors or gods,

tahjzhuan

I believe I'm senior because I realize I need to find something else to do as I've mastered my current role.

TeKniques

"Senior titles mean nothing" ... until you earn one.

darkeries

TeKniques wrote: »

"Senior titles mean nothing" ... until you earn one.

true but who is the judge of that, your boss / company or you feeling like you deserved it so you lie in your cv/linked and puut the word SENIOR infront of what your real title is?

Iristheangel

Holy thread resurrection.

Senior means different things depending on different companies and roles. I like what Tahjzhuan stated about it being senior because he's mastered his current role and there isn't much more for him to master in it. Sadly, by the measurement, I'll never possibly be a senior at my current job and I am ok with that.

I've been in IT for about 7 years now, run study groups, and have my dream job and I don't feel senior or godlike yet. Not even demigod status yet. I think I'm good and even great at some things but I always feel like there is always something else I need to learn tomorrow to stay current. i.e. I'm working on my CCIE DC but there's so much that's not covered in the DC roadmap or other technologies that I have to have working knowledge of so I'm constantly having to get up to speed on different technology (VXLAN, ACI, iWAN, PFRv3, Forescout, Palo Alto, Brocade, Arista, etc) and hoping I don't make a fool of myself as I'm learning

F' the title. I want to be damn good at my job, I don't want to be bored, and I want to learn as much as possible for the rest of my career. That sounds like more fun to me.

alias454

Well said!

Deathmage

danitykane wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, how can you interview Senior or intermediate Network Engineers when you are still a Junior Network Engineer Iris?

Contrary to this statement Iris is quite far from 'Junior' level in many respects. She is ideally more close to the 'Senior' level discussed in this thread that 'some' on this forum have actually achieved.

If you've followed Iris over the years she is so heavily focused on her career it's fraking insane...

She's on track for a 4Q attempt on her CCIE.

Iristheangel

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Deathmage

This thread is like 2 years old and it was rather weird at the time. I don't even know if Danity is even on the forum anymore. I just got questioned because I mentioned that I conducted the technical interviews at the job I had at the time. Honestly, in retrospect, I can understand even if I disagree. We're all colored by our own experiences so if it takes someone a lot longer to get to the same place or they get stuck in a certain role/payscale, it would be hard for some to not be cynical about others moving faster than them or skipping certain stages. Perception is key. How do I convey my work ethic on a certification forum except for the random posts about "I passed this" or "I'm working on this"? If I had more time, I'd probably update my blog more and post on here more but in the last 3 years, my activity on here has gone down a lot and between having a double workload at work for the next few months, CCIE labbing, being part of a separate study group, running a labbing study group and trying to be a decent enough spouse, I don't have as much time as I used to. If Danity was still here, I'd invite him to my group and invite him to lab with me. Maybe I'd teach him something, maybe he'd teach me something, but I'd be open to either. I'm constantly learning new things and I hope I never stop.

Deathmage

Iristheangel wrote: »

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Deathmage

This thread is like 2 years old and it was rather weird at the time. I don't even know if Danity is even on the forum anymore. I just got questioned because I mentioned that I conducted the technical interviews at the job I had at the time. Honestly, in retrospect, I can understand even if I disagree. We're all colored by our own experiences so if it takes someone a lot longer to get to the same place or they get stuck in a certain role/payscale, it would be hard for some to not be cynical about others moving faster than them or skipping certain stages. Perception is key. How do I convey my work ethic on a certification forum except for the random posts about "I passed this" or "I'm working on this"? If I had more time, I'd probably update my blog more and post on here more but in the last 3 years, my activity on here has gone down a lot and between having a double workload at work for the next few months, CCIE labbing, being part of a separate study group, running a labbing study group and trying to be a decent enough spouse, I don't have as much time as I used to. If Danity was still here, I'd invite him to my group and invite him to lab with me. Maybe I'd teach him something, maybe he'd teach me something, but I'd be open to either. I'm constantly learning new things and I hope I never stop.

NEVER EVER STOP LEARNING!

I'm learning disabled with Dyslexia and non-verbal (basically I suck at communication skills - hence why I'm single - I'm way to blunt and honest, lol) but even though I struggle each day to learn if, me personally, if I couldn't learn I'd be lost.

I to wasn't the same person career wise 2 years ago. Hard to say where I will be in 2 years. I do know I'll still be here on this forum, god willing!

Just one day at a time, live each day like it was your last and remember always stay positive and exercise 3 days a week and you'll be golden! - like me I was @ 160 lbs @ 27.9% BFI last August, I'm now 205 lbs @ 16.3 BFI and have never felt better; goal is 10% BFI.

My goals are to be this phantom 'Senior' Level by 35. CCNP/MCSE/VCIX by then, who knows maybe even higher but that's my baseline goal!

Iristheangel

I know what you mean. I'm certainly not the same person I was last year much less 2 years ago. Dyslexia would be difficult... Does watching videos and other learning methods help you out? Just curious more than anything.

Deathmage

Iristheangel wrote: »

I know what you mean. I'm certainly not the same person I was last year much less 2 years ago. Dyslexia would be difficult... Does watching videos and other learning methods help you out? Just curious more than anything.

I learn best by doing it over and over again.

I use 3 or 4 books normally. Then CBT Nuggets/Udemy. Then labbing as close to the real deal as possible and then just months and months of repetition Until it clicks.

Case-in-point. I listened to everyones advice on here and I've been doing subnetting for 8 months and now I can finally do it in my head. But even then I just think it cause I've done over 1000+ different workout of subnetting that I've just remembered the CIDR's up to /8 so far.

My co-workers sometimes here me muttering 1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512, 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384, etc over and over.

It's gotten so nerdy I bought a binary clock for my work desk and I can understand the time now in BINARY!!!

N2IT

In my current company this is how the titles usually break down for developer, database, analyst (including business, data and other forms)

Associate usually are either new grads from very good universities with 0 experience. Or 1 year experience of a internship of some kind.

No designation usually is 1 - 3 years with a masters or 3 - 5 with bachelors. 5+ no degree recommended. Specific niche knowledge also required at least with 1 year of experience. For instance app dev they might also require 1 year of C# development skills or if you are a business analyst 1 year of SQL.

Senior in this current company really requires a lot of experience if you are coming in off the street. Master 5+ years with domain knowledge and technical knowledge, such as VBA, SQL, C#, XML etc. 10+ years of experience with no degree and with a bachelors around 7. This fluctuates depending on the role and department, for instance if you are apply for an associate SQL analyst you'll need 2+ years of experience with SQL even though it's an entry level position.

LeBroke

darkeries wrote: »

ive seen so many people in here post 1 year or 2 years ago saying they dont know what they are doing,
and 1 to two years later they THINK they are seniors or gods,

Well, to be fair, 1-2 years is often enough to master the ins and outs of a support/junior role. Is someone with 2 years experience at a role senior in an objective sense? Definitely nope. Are they a de facto senior support tech at X company or something? Sure, if they've got the knowledge and experience to back it up.

N2IT

I agree, for instance on a help desk you could potentially go from help desk to senior help desk in 1 - 2 years. So that's not a reach at all, however in challenging and strategic roles I agree you'll need several years before you are taken seriously as a senior.

A senior with 1 year of experience in networking or systems would be borderline egregious.

dou2ble

N2IT wrote: »

I agree, for instance on a help desk you could potentially go from help desk to senior help desk in 1 - 2 years. So that's not a reach at all, however in challenging and strategic roles I agree you'll need several years before you are taken seriously as a senior.

A senior with 1 year of experience in networking or systems would be borderline egregious.

Your signature title or resume/linkedin can say "Senior" but mean nothing if your peers don't agree. You can usually tell in most circumstances who is Senior in a particular subject when the majority seek out advice from a certain individual.

GoodBishop

From Junior to Senior - Infosec Reactions <-- this says it all...