Can anyone tell me how to distinguish a Junior Perl Programmer from a Senior one?
The reason I'm asking this is that, being Portuguese, I'm not familiar with these terms...
Is it related to the years one has spend using Perl? Or how brilliant the programmer considers himself to be? Or maybe something else?
Thanks for any enlightment.
battle scars
merlyn on 2004-02-06T13:35:12
A senior Perl programmer has done enough things wrong that they instinctively avoid them.
A junior Perl programmer may have heard tales of such wrongdoings, but in the heat of the battle decides to do the wrong thing anyway because it's easier.
Look for the scars.
Where I Work...
samtregar on 2004-02-06T13:45:45
... the Junior programmers have Senior programmers for direct supervisors, but the Senior programmers only have managers above them. That lets us make the really big mistakes with greater ease.
-sam
On the flip side...
...in terms of actual responsibility there is a difference of scope. Junior programmers think and work in terms of functions, and maybe whole programs. Senior programmers usually work with several Junior programmers and think in terms of whole systems. They also tend to work on larger architecture-type issues, figuring out how to build things so you don't get burned in 2 years.
Time in the saddle helps, but some people can never really make the transition to "thinking big." They might still be great coders when given clear requirements.
Jr-Sr Perl Programmers
xenchu on 2004-02-06T22:55:17
Most places I know of, it is a job title. The programmer is appointed to the position based on arcane management rules.
