from middle to senior

How to become
a senior developer

Yandex Practicum - Russian EdTech company that trains adults in IT professions

The goal of the project was to create an educational course that would serve as a navigator for mid-career developers, helping them answer the questions: where to go in their careers and what steps to take to reach their goal. The main objectives were to help learners assess their experience and skillset, help them realign their thinking and identify career priorities, and introduce them to practices that lead to the target role of a senior developer.

Result
"Working left the best impressions - all stages of the design cycle have been went through thoughtfully and got a holistic result. As a result of the research and work with SME, the methodologist managed to identify the main educational goal: to define a career goal and develop a plan to achieve it. Accordingly, the choice of an experience-oriented approach is justified by the fact that each student has his or her own individual trajectory. In order to actualize the problems and form a correct attitude towards moving towards the goal, the methodologist identified simulation cases, observed constructive alignment and prepared materials for the demand test. This is excellent material, ready to be used as a template for beta flow" - Yana Sergievskaya LX-lead, customer.

My solution
To determine the appropriate form of training, a Target Audience study was conducted and case studies of successful senior developers were reviewed. This allowed to formulate a baseline and target development points, as well as to identify gaps in skills, thinking and responsibility. As a result, a two-month course was developed in three parts:

Senior Developer Job Simulation: students can try on the role of a Senior Developer, immerse themselves in the situations and tasks they will encounter in the role, and learn how to act accordingly

Professional Self-Assessment: students learn what competencies are required for a Senior Developer and compare their own competency profile, which helps them identify gaps and plan their development

Career Planning: students learn how to develop different skills and create an individualized career plan in collaboration with a mentor. This helps them identify the necessary steps and resources to achieve their goal

At the end of the program, students receive support from a community or mentor according to the chosen rate, which helps them implement their career plan.