# Are you senior developer ready?

The developer community consists of numerous articles on steps to becoming a senior developer. However, many of them tend to focus on the big picture concepts. In this article, I aim to provide a comprehensive list of practical tips you can follow. I personally followed this list to become a senior developer without meeting the years of experience requirement.

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First, a leap from a junior developer to a senior developer makes up a long list of technical skills to differentiate yourself.

* Spend time learning security vulnerabilities and how to prevent them.
    
* Write readable, maintainable, and scalable code.
    
* Become a fire fighter. When urgent bugs are reported, remediate them efficiently.
    
* [Deeply review code and provide useful feedback](https://blogs.namitoyokota.com/reviewers-guide-to-effective-code-review).
    
* Become proficient in researching new technologies and developing POCs (proof of concept).
    
* Come up with creative and clever solutions that can be used company wide.
    
* Create or refine coding standards and style guides.
    
* Understand different types of testing methods.
    
* Place testing rules and group testing meetings to production bugs.
    
* Learn how to run mob sessions and pair programming meetings effectively and efficiently.
    
* Have a strong understanding of the software architecture and the release process used by your team.
    
* Always know the pros and cons of the method/technology that your project is using. Never say, “That’s how it’s always been.”
    
* Contribute to the company wiki pages and write new documentations as needed.
    
* Be up to date on the latest technology news and trends. Subscribing to newsletters is a great way to achieve this.
    
* Mentor junior developers to provide them with resources and opportunities to improve. Learn to delegate your coding tasks.
    
* Communicate with stakeholders (keep in mind the technical limitations). Learn to estimate and avoid over-promising.
    

On top of these technical skills, you should also improve your personal skills.

* Become reliable, reachable, and consistent. Stay true to your word. Respond to messages in a timely manner.
    
* Be precise in your speech. Avoid misunderstanding between your teammates.
    
* Learn how to lead a meeting. Make sure that all opinions are heard.
    
* Learn how to share your opinion. Be open to receiving feedback.
    
* Learn to work in a fast-pace environment without distractions.
    
* Encourage others to do their best and provide support when they are struggling.
    
* Be optimistic and positive in meetings and try to add a smile.
    

Lastly, create a brag document to provide a comprehensive list of your contributions to show your manager when asking for a promotion. Best of luck!