Starting as a developer what are the possible career steps? [closed]

Question

I would like to know what kind of jobs/roles one could expect on their career path if they start as a developer.

I also want to know how many years you'll be expected to stay in the same role until you progress to the next level.

The career path is of course, based on how good you do your job, the company etc. but assume a normal person who balances life and family with career.

Some examples of roles that I have in may head: developer, senior developer, architect, project manager etc.

Answer 1

Broadly speaking I've seen people take the following routes:

1) Stay as a developer. There's no reason to actually move on at all, developing is just fine and there are a lot of people I know into their 30s and 40s who have no intention of moving from something they enjoy into something they won't just for the sake of "progression".

2) Technical Architect. Potentially still hands on to a degree but also involving higher level technical design and analysis, platform selection and so on. Generally speaking a Technical Architect will have spent 5 - 10 years as a developer before moving into this sort of role.

3) Project Management. The first of the hands-off options (a proper Project Manager won't code except maybe for the odd little tool to make their own life easier). A Project Manager runs the project as a whole from start to finish, liaising with the business and the developers, ensuring the business case is valid, planning and managing the plan, monitoring risks and so on. In terms of when you can move into Project Management, it can happen at any point, though the earlier you do it the smaller the projects you're given to manage are likely to be.

4) Business Analysis / General Consultancy. Writing specifications, discussing what's needed with users and clients, documenting it, working with the developers and testers to make sure it's understood. Again, a move into this sort of role can happen at any time, though more experience as a developer will tend to afford you better opportunities as an analyst.

5) Development Management. Distinct from Project Manager though in some instances (particularly in smaller organisations) they'll be rolled into one. The simplest distinction is that a Project Manager is responsible for the project, the development manager is responsible for the team. A Development Manager will almost always have a technical background, may still be hands on, and will have a good understanding of development process and the associated tools. Most of their time will be spent keeping the team productive and keeping the development work moving forward. Generally speaking someone will have worked for 5 - 10 years as a developer before moving into this sort of role.

If you want to move beyond these into more senior management then Project Manager and Development Manager are the most likely routes out.

Which is best for you is entirely down to what you want to do and what your skills are and none of them should be seen as right or better than the others. It's entirely possible to try them out and move back or move on again. From my experience the only thing that stops that sort of move being possible is when you become senior enough that you won't take the salary drop which comes as part of moving into an area where you're less experienced.

Answer 2

Developer, Senior Developer, Architect, Project Manager (possibly also Principal Engineer, Program Manager, CTO, and God forbid, CEO). That's pretty much it, the only question is at which point you'd entirely switch from your editor/IDE to Microsoft Project/Word/Powerpoint.

Answer 3

What do you expect? Money? Underlings? Self-fulfillment? Freedom? Power? Whenever I hear someone wants to make a career, I get a feeling that this someone has no clear goals.

Answer 4

Hai Amir Rezaei,

I would like to suggest you, that A programmer can start the career as Junior level Developer after finishing the couple of projects in a fine style and also got one year experienced[ie some reasonable experience], then the he/she may promoted to Senior Level developer if the firm feels that he/she has both technical skills and management skills such as leadership qualities etc., By the Similar way he/she can switch to the next levels such as

Senior level Developer -> Team Lead Team Lead -> Architect Architect -> Project Manager

Answer 5

The number of years at a role can be calculated only at a very junior level in the Organization. As you grow vertically this formula fails miserably. Some people become CEO's at 40 some become CEO's at 50 and some never reach to that level even though they want to.

Answer 6

Well, I can't tell you for certain, but I can show you my "career" (outside uni studies) so far, and what I'd like to do (in brackets):

web admin -> volunteer research assistant -> cinema worker -> software tester -> call center worker (selling wine) -> developer in financial services -> self employed developer (financial services) -> developer in scientific instruments [-> get a doctorate in something CS related -> get a lecturing position -> get tenure -> retire]

I guess you're only interested in the steps where I'm a developer, the rest is there for completeness. The amount of money I earn in each step depends on who I'm working for more than my job title.

I've not stayed in the same role for more than 2 years, so far. A doctorate would obviously take longer, and I hope to be in my current role for a while. Getting to be a lecturer and getting tenured, well that could take forever.