[teamhappy]

I would have expected the C/C++/Linux people to have higher seniority than the CSS/CoffeeScript/Node.js people. Can anybody explain this? Is it that they work in two different industries (i.e., they both build web apps, but the Python ones are heavier on the number crunching side)?

[GordyMD]

The seniority level was gathered by asking each person the seniority they would like in their next job. This suggests that it is more common for people working with Ruby to think of picture themselves in a higher seniority role than their Python counterparts. It is not an actual reflection of their current level.

Also it is completely subjective - Your definition of C/C++/Linux people being more senior to CSS/CoffeeScript/Node.js people is your point of view - other people's views may be different.

[teamhappy]

> It is not an actual reflection of their current level.

I know. I meant to say "have a higher seniority in the graph." I assume the sample size was big enough to handle shy Pythonistas and/or overly-confident Ruby devs. :P

> Your definition of C/C++/Linux people being more senior [...]

I said "I would have expected [...]".

> [...] other people's views may be different.

Clearly: http://uk.businessinsider.com/best-tech-skills-resume-ranked...

My personal experience is that somebody who doesn't know C/C++ and some UNIX basics is going to write worse code on average. (Settle down.) My personal experience probably isn't representative of anything (I'm a graphics programmer), but I think it shows in the web dev world as well. Puma for example (a Ruby web server I know virtually nothing about) is crazy fast because the guy who wrote it knows about fork and signals. Another example is Bluebird (JS promises lib), which only became popular because the guy who wrote it knows how compilers work.

[dagw]

Seniority and titles are also majorly influenced by company size. Years ago I worked as systems administrator at a larger company. I had a friend of mine who did very similar work at a very small company. We earned basically the same, were in basically the same industry, did basically the same work and for all intents and purposes had the same responsibility. My title was Systems Administrator and his was Chief Technical Officer.

Being the lead developer at a 2 month old 3 man web shop is very different from being lead developer on Microsoft Windows.

[GordyMD]

Great point. Seniority and job title vary greatly based on company size. One of the things I would always find so odd. I'd speak to friends at larger companies with the same title as me, Software Engineer, and the way they spent their time would be so different - hence why we like to think about work differently - currently in Workshapes.