| > Honestly, I'm not that good. I'm a super mediocre coder. I try to be really transparent with my work experience and skill set and I acknowledge that I have weaknesses that need fixing and plenty of learning still left ahead. When you understand what you don't know, you become mature and journey towards excellence starts. So don't underestimate yourself, you'r on right path. Just stay passionate and curious. It will pay you off in long run. (I might be wrong, but in my experience people who talk loud knew very less) > I'm just afraid that potential employers think I'm capable of doing things that in reality I cannot do, and I don't want to go into the job and eventually get fired if I fail to meet the expectations that I was hired based on. Don't bother with these thoughts. If you get selected, it means you're a good fit (Again don't underestimate your interviewers). I was in similar dilemma before, but it worked out well. > don't know if I can go against these employers and say, "No, I want to be a SWE 2 not a 3. No, I'm a mid-level SWE, not a senior. Interview me with that in mind and stop having such high expectations of me." I can't tell if I'm potentially lacking confidence, or if I'm misrepresenting my work experience to seem more impactful than it really was. Everything depends on organization structure & culture. Designation doesn't play big role always. Things change across project to project and people to people. You may end up with no responsibility or all responsibility. Also instead of planning career in SWE2/3/4, consider below categories based on responsibilities and skillset required. - IC (SWE2/3/4/architect) - Manager (Delivery Manager/Product Owners/Program Managers etc) - Executives (Directors/Managers/VPs) - Enterprenures So if you're SWE2, you can easily SURVIVE as SWE3/4/architect. |