I have never been into titles. I know why they exist, but I have never actively chased them. But on the other hand, I have seen people chase titles, and I only got why last year. A colleague told me that titles came with more opportunities to learn, the chance to contribute to the product roadmap, and more money.

I have ensured that I put my point across regardless of my title. But that’s not how it works in large corporations. You have the right title to be invited to forums and meetings where decisions are made.

At my last job and my current job, my title is a senior software engineer. The pay rise has been good, and I get to work on things that would scare me before. I now participate in meetings involving roadmap items for the next quarter. It feels good to contribute to the product roadmap.

Looking back, I should have tried to get a title bump much earlier. There were things I wanted to change to make the software better at previous companies that I worked at.