[caymanjim]

> First of all, I'm not sure where this "10 years" is coming from. I know many/most "senior" developers who reached that level long before 10 years out of university.

That's because it's a near-meaningless title that has been watered down. Everyone is a "senior" now by their second year working.

[cratermoon]

As of 2-4 years ago, the number of programmers working in the industry was doubling every 5 years. That might not seem relevant until you realize that it means half of all programmers have less than 5 years experience. If you have 10 years in the industry, you're more senior than 75% of your co-workers.

That's why anyone with 5 years on the job is considered "senior", even though most in most professions you're just getting out of the entry level after 5 years.

[wyclif]

The most frustrating thing about this post for me isn't the "10 years" issue, but rather this:

Most of these companies have solid internship programs, and almost all E3 (entry-level) positions are offered to returning interns.

What this means is that there's no track into a junior position where you can gain experience and work your way up to senior within a FAANG if you're older than a recent college grad. That's unfortunate, because as someone working for a mid-tier company I'd like to work hard and land a senior role at a FAANG but I often wonder if these companies would look down on candidates who have spent years at lesser companies.

[barnacled]

It really depends on the place and nearly always applies only to experience specifically in the exact role you are in.

I have 15yrs experience and moved sideways a few times and I am in effect treated as if I were new in my current role.

So senior doesn't so much translate to experience or even transferable working knowledge but rather 'how well you have done politically to gain position in this specific company'. Yes I am cynical :)