A question that I asked myself, shortly after New Year`s celebrations, and it should arise for every developer in his career (at least several times maybe), and if it doesn`t - HR staff will (probably) ask it during interview by HR staff - because it shows what to expect from the person and if he has a plan. `How do you see yourself in five years time?` - I gave this question to myself, and I couldn`t answer honestly, without lying to myself. In this fast paced world, where every week we have a new Javascript framework, who do developers want to become? How do I plan to answer this question to myself? I would love to gain the experience from other developers, who have already walked this path by answering this question or just taking the path for 5 years. How do these people hanged their job title and what characteristics they had, what they lacked, what challenges they met? I will do this answering thing as deep as I can - because it is my future, which I build for myself. And maybe, just maybe, someone reading this will gain something from my experiences.

The future depends on what you do today.

How was it before the question?

Firstly, how did I came across this question? Not so long ago, everything seemed so clear - I was a team lead and worked with several developers and was very happy that I had a chance to help the team and every person in the team. But surprise, surprise - I was not ready at all. During that time, it seemed that I was coping with the tasks quite well and looked after the people in my team so they could grow. But, when I think now and reflect on my experience - it is obvious, that I have done a lot of mistakes, and some things I did not even have courage or time to do. I hope, that it did no real harm for the team, because I feel I was a really neutral team lead. But now I think I could have done much better because there was a lot of space to grow and improve. But I needed a kick to my bottom - and there was none - I was in a such a comfort zone.

How did I stumble upon it?

This kick happened when we were having a farewell beer and my ex team lead (whom I replaced (sir VA)) asked me this intriguing question. And probably, because there was enough beer already, thoughts and talks drowned during the evening. It got to me, when I moved to London and had multiple interviews where this question was asked again and again. The second kick - was I had to change a job to dare openly ask this question. Naturally for me, this stuck with me until now. How do I see myself in five years time? What is that I seek? What is my life`s purpose? No, I will leave latter for later, as they are very hard for my dumb head.

The possibilities

Because I had been in the team lead`s shoes (although, I`ve made those uncomfortable), naturally, that I would want to try make a better effort in the future. But maybe, there is another way? Taking a glance over current job offers and positions you could acquire after software development - generally I can see five of them:

• Senior developer/engineer
• Tech lead
• Team lead
• Architect
• IT department manager (CTO)

Of course, all of them are somewhat similar, but they have key differences. I know, what you are thinking - these might be a quite unreachable goals in five years time or that these titles follow each other as a carrer path. I hear you. What if I would not go further than any of the particular title?

Issues

The problem that I already clearly see, that these titles have different growth paths and even more worrying that these titles that are used in companies differentiate in definition and responsibilities. It may even happen that one title can have the definition and responsibilities of the other. But this seem to happen to most of the professions.

The plan

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

My quest, obviously, is to answer The question. This can be completed by sitting down and doing some research how these titles look generalised from different sources. Most likely, in the several upcoming months, I will try to find as much text information about the titles adding people`s
experiences who are working in these positions. I hope, that it will help me to make a plan: how and what I need to reach my vision and answer this damned question.