How To Become Senior JavaScript Developer

Hello everybody! It doesn’t matter what reasons pushed you to strive to raise your level of knowledge of JavaScript to Senior. Perhaps many of you are wondering what separates you from Middle to Senior, and you cannot answer yourself and don’t know what to do to achieve such a goal. Obviously, the senior knows a lot more than the junior and middle. Learning about design patterns, architecture, test automation, performance, security, and more will help newbies get closer to more experienced colleagues faster. However, it is worth remembering that knowledge is important, but this is far from the main difference between developers of different levels. I wrote this article which is called ‘How To Become Senior JavaScript Developer’ to help you level up your skills as a JavaScript developer. So let’s get started!

JavaScript has long been used not only for developing dynamic user interfaces, but also for writing rather complex business logic. Therefore, knowledge of algorithms and data structures becomes critical for JS developers. However, as the practice of interviews and experience of working with beginners and not so JavaScript developers show, their knowledge of basic algorithms and data structures leaves much to be desired. Therefore, for novice JavaScript developers, I highly recommend starting their difficult but interesting path in IT by studying algorithms and data structures. Recently, the JavaScript system and the development in general are very rapidly growing and are associated with many related technologies. Sometimes a programmer who wants to improve his skills begins to learn a new framework, as soon as two more appear. That is, you should be prepared for the fact that having paid attention to some modern framework, you may face the fact that the day after tomorrow it will no longer be relevant. New technologies come and go, and knowledge of JavaScript at the Senior level will always be useful, regardless of what path of development you will choose in this area. Therefore, I want to start with tips that will seem pretty simple to you, but many who strive for Senior forget about them.

First of all, don’t overshadow the layout. Recently, one can often find a rather dismissive attitude towards layout. Perhaps that is why it is now so difficult to find a really good JavaScript specialist who, in addition to high-quality layout, cares about client performance, makes nice animation, does not forget about accessibility, applies modern techniques and is familiar with the nuances of frameworks and CMS, for which he makes up. In addition to the basics, take some time to nuances – and you will stand head and shoulders above the whole army of layout designers.
Even when learning new technologies, do not forget about the native JavaScript. If earlier we faced a generation of ‘jQuery programmers’ who did not know how to handle JavaScript, now more and more often there are young developers who are brought up on a modern JavaScript framework and are not able to write the simplest algorithm in pure JavaScript, sometimes they practically do not know the layout. Do not do it this way. Good knowledge of the language will make it much faster to understand any new framework on it. And yes, while studying time-tested JavaScript books, don’t forget about ES2015.

At the same time, it is a simple and difficult question, where is this JavaScript base to master. It is easier for someone to study books, for someone to go to offline courses, for someone to study online. Despite the fact that JavaScript courses are one of the most popular among all IT courses, there is not always a high level of teaching due to the low entry threshold. Personally, I see it as an ideal combination – proven online courses + a mentor to whom you can always turn to with a question. It is better to look for a mentor by recommendations, personal attitude and offline availability. However, it is also not worth getting too carried away with the courses, the sooner you move on to real tasks, the better.

Try to always be aware of the latest news in the development world! At interviews, it is quite often the situation when the knowledge of a seemingly experienced developer with decent work experience was not bad according to, for example, 2013, but outdated by modern standards. In such a situation, he may be in a more losing position to a less experienced but industry-focused candidate. In the modern world of JavaScript development, new technologies, techniques, tools and approaches appear almost every day, so it is very easy to fall out of its current context, which can drastically reduce competitiveness and productivity. There are more than enough channels for monitoring today: thematic blogs, periodic mailings, social networks, public pages and channels, podcasts that are very popular lately.

High productivity is essential for reaching the Senior level of JavaScript developers. Try to be one step ahead and do a little more than the task requires (if possible). Have you made a website with the prospect of future support or while working on a large project? Add a style guide and make life easier for all developers on the project. Finished the layout faster than you planned? Add at least basic accessibility support, check the print styles, and make sure the animation runs at 60 FPS. Master and suggest adding offline support, appreciate the ability to create a PWA. Did you see some inconsistencies in the code? Offer to introduce linters, raise the issue of standardization. And do not forget to share this knowledge with the team, because you are a Senior Developer.

The last but probably the most important point is responsibility. You can perfectly master any technology, become a god of CSS, JavaScript ninja and be a cool specialist in Angular and React. But if you don’t get into your own estimates, regularly break the deadlines, substituting the whole team, do not signal on time about problems on the project, disappear from the workplace without explanation, run away to a conditional training during a critical situation on the project, and so on – then in such situations, the value of your knowledge will rapidly roll to zero. Unfortunately, the set of words at the end of every second resume (about responsibility, perseverance and resistance to stress) in fact turns out to be just a set of words, and finding a truly responsible and reliable specialist is still a quest.

Conclusion

Finally, I will add that the main thing is to have the desire to choose a direction and actively develop in it, always do the work that is offered, practice will help you – and over time you will get better and better tasks. Don’t worry when you make mistakes, next time it will be better. What is the criterion that you can work and fight for the position of Senior JavaScript developer? When you have several random practical tasks you can perform them in different ways and understand the difference between them, the benefits of each. This is the first sign of readiness for such a high level. Thanks for reading an article ‘‘How To Become Senior JavaScript Developer’. Wish you to achieve your goal in JS development!