What My Job Title Means to Me

Sometimes I find myself reflecting on work, and recently I found myself specifically thinking about job titles. A job title is a label, but it still attempts to describe something. And though I’m much more than my work, my title still reflects an important part of my day-to-day. So, after some thinking I had the rare inspiration to share, so allow me to dive in to what my impression of my “Senior Web Development Engineer” label means.

Let’s start from the back end 😉 To me “Engineer” means technical and logical problem solving. Though I don’t have a traditional CS degree (shout-out to my fellow Chemistry majors!) and pivoted my career with a coding bootcamp, building things and untangling complexity has always been a passion. I’m an engineer because I like a challenging problem and I use everything at my disposal to find a solution, and then a better one. I plan, I fixate on the details, I build, I execute, and then I celebrate the solution.

The engineering mindset is foundational, but the “Web Development” part is where I have fun with it. I build things on the World Wide Web, and anyone with Internet can find, interact with, and experience the things I create, which is incredible. This part of my title also mirrors the ecosystem itself: that I’m adaptable, capable of change and growth, and restless. I pick up new technology fast because my tools are always changing. But, a few core principles stay constant: my focus on performance, accessibility, and user experience. The Web is for everyone, and I’m excited to be a part of it.

And finally, after the years I’ve had so far of working on my craft, the more recent “Senior” part. For me, this represents my time building my reputation. It’s less about technical skills, which I’ve grown but will always have more to learn, but more about my reliability to lead, provide support and guidance, and stay level headed with honesty. It’s about being self reliant, but knowing when to get more resources, and knowing when to offer resources to others. It’s about communication and collaboration, which sees projects to completion just much as technical skills. And, like my technical skills, there will always be more room for growth, which is exciting.

This “Senior” role, while perhaps softer in skills and more serious, is just as rewarding as solving a tough problem or building something new. Because in the end, the three parts of my title work together. The Engineer finds the solution, Web Development gives it a home, and the Senior ensures it’s built with the wisdom I’ve gain through my own experience and from others.