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I asked myself a simple and pretty ridiculous question (as I'm a newbie): When I major in CS, graduate and get employed, can I say "I want to be a senior Programmer"?!

Does this job title come according to my pre-training, skills, experience, efficiency? Well, after all, when can a beginner/junior be named "Senior"?

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There is no "standard" and the title means very different things at different companies. – Oded♦ Oct 13 '12 at 11:20
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By the way, usually there is also one more step between junior and senior (some people call it regular, or just don't write anything before title, like software engineer). – om-nom-nom Oct 13 '12 at 11:36
Usually senior refers to time. If you're fresh out of college you're a junior. This title is not based on your level of proficiency/skill, although it is assumed "seniors" are more proficient and skilled. Different companies give different meaning and importance to different buzzwords and titles. – Lord Tydus Oct 13 '12 at 13:39
Everywhere I worked, those labels were related to salary. A freshout with an advanced degree from a topnotch school is sometimes tagged as "Senior" just because of the high starting salary. The term varies so much in meaning from place to place that it is more or less meaningless. – David Hammen Oct 13 '12 at 14:37

closed as not constructive by Oded♦, ChrisF♦ Oct 13 '12 at 12:22

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Most big software companies will have two career tracks available for programmers - either you get to manage a team, or you get to make bigger technical decisions. Manager or Senior. There is no standard, every company is different but usually "Senior" means that you need recognition because of your abilities and they are in the technical track.

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What about mixins, like Tech (/Team) Lead? – om-nom-nom Oct 13 '12 at 11:39
I've found that Team/Tech Lead is the first step up from junior programmer; first test from the company to see what you're made of. You said it yourself - it's both Team and Tech. – Stephen O'Flynn Oct 13 '12 at 11:48

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