alt Hacker News> I started my first software job out of college in July of 2023. In January 2026, two and a half years later, I secured my second promotion, earning the title of Senior Software Engineer.
> certainly there are hard lessons that I have yet to learn in my career - but my company does not hand that title out like candy
> had (and still have) an excellent mentor <..> he had just been promoted to Senior SE. He was two years out of school himself.
I'm sure OP is a great engineer, and earned their promotion (genuinely, I am). But it sounds like his company hands out titles like candy.
As others have said titles are meaningless but I've worked with enough recruiters to know that they do have some sway on non-technical people..
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Senior Software Engineer after 2 years is common. It’s a signal that someone has been promoted one step past the level right after college.
Some companies do it differently but honestly this is one of the more consistent ones I’ve seen based on years of reviewing resumes. I’d never penalize someone for not having a Senior title on their resume unless I knew the company’s leveling system.
I don’t take Senior Software Engineer to mean the person is a highly advanced engineer with loads of experience though.
Everyone who reviews applicants knows that leveling systems are very different depending on the company. What you should read these articles as is: The person managed to go through their first leveling up process at work. The title for the next level happens to be Senior Software Engineer at this company.
The title could have been Software Engineer II, Software Engineer Lebel Lvl 44, or anything arbitrary. The title is not the point.
Ha! It's funny I didn't notice that juxtaposition when I was writing it.
Understandable take. One counterpoint I would offer (with no proof, so take it or leave it) is that what I mostly see is engineers get passed up for promos that I feel they deserve. I think a large part of that is cutbacks - they haven't done layoffs, but around the time I started, they started cutting benefits, cutting RSUs, and my manager literally told me "due to budget constraints they are going to scrutinize promos very heavily going forward."
But! I don't work at a FAANG or an AI firm or anywhere with an extreme performance culture either. So regardless of YOE, if you're skilled, motivated, and a little lucky, you can really shine...
Typically it is expected that a software engineer gets their first promotion between 12-24 months. At the 6-12 month timeframe the managers will be having discussions around if they are on track, what they need help on (everyone needs a little help), or if there clear performance warnings going on and we need to take action of some sort.
I will congratulate everyone on their first promotion, it is worth celebrating, not everyone can do this job. But this first promotion is given to everyone who can actually do the work.
Get someone good, in a greenfield project, the right start timing aligned with promo committee time, add in some luck, and sure two promos in two years are possible.
Seen this before and the worry is that they are learning is the game of the promos system, not engineering. I would have to sit them down and ask them how many years away from being the CEO do they think they are. The next promo will come slower no matter their skill and even slower after that and one day the promos will probably stop. The validation that they might be addicted to will get harder to obtain over time. Not getting a promos shouldn't "crush" you. If they assume that merit is always rewarded they should ask their boss how promo committees actually work. Many people don't get promos for reasons unrelated to merit.
The second question is where is the engineering? Only two years into a long career there is a lifetime to learn and explore. If they only chase promo they are going to burn out very quickly.
I remember discovering a long time ago there were lots of VPs at yahoo.
I interviewed with a company that said that.
They promoted an engineer 18 months out of undergrad to senior. They said it to indicate growth potential at the company, but I saw it as a big red flag.