Mid-level to senior engineer

Stage 1 · Lesson 3 of 8

Impact over output

Seniority as scope, with a clear bar

Output is what you produced: closed, merged, lines of code written. Impact is the difference it made. Examples: fewer failed payments, a release that takes 10 minutes instead of 2 hours, or a team that no longer gets woken at night by .

At most companies, promotion decisions are based on impact. Two engineers can close the same number of tickets and change very different things. Choosing starts with how you describe your work: "I did X, which changed Y, measured by Z." Measuring impact is also what the in a later stage depends on.

Common trapa busy calendar full of low-value work that feels productive, and describing your work as a list of activity with no result.

A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 1 cheat sheet entry come with the full roadmap. Unlock

Resources for this stage

Start with

Keep handy

  • Engineering Ladders

    Compare your scope with the next level across technology, people and influence

Also worth your time

Mark this stage as not done?