It is easier now than ever to become a software developer.Attracted by promises of 150ks salaries, remote riches and a lifetime balance equal to none, everybody wants to be a programmer these days.Coding Bootcamps and Udemy courses are popping out everywhere. Young and old, millions of people are trying to learn how to code in order to improve their lives and income.

The road you need to take to become a senior developer is long. It is a difference that most developers underestimate — I know I did back in my early days of writing code.

Is not because programming is hard. Or because there are too many technologies out there or because you don’t have enough experience. Understanding that being good at software development is about discipline and not really about coding per se, frameworks or “on-paper” experience, that is hard.For many of you, this is not relevant, unless you are ready to get to the next level as a software developer. Whether it is because you simply want to be better, more confident or you want to make more money.

You are building side projects, messing around with some Node.js, hanging around on Twitter, checking out some job postings - a developer’s routine. You are all doing the same, listening to the same podcast, reading the same blogs. But your tech lead doesn't care. They have seen it all before. Another ambitious coder in the sea of fresh devs, bootcampers and self-taught wizards. Why should they anyway?That is the million-dollar question.

It happens every morning. You grab a fresh coffee, open your Macbook, and read about the latest tech out there. You watch developers working for your dream companies talking on stage. They talk about the latest updates on the libraries they released. About the cool things they are working on.

Are you are still fixing WordPress bugs? Stitching PHP code in legacy systems. My friend, is 2023... I know, it is part of the job and you don’t mind doing it. But, not the whole damn day. You wanted to build something big. To work on interesting projects and get paid generously for it. The “promised land” of software developers.

...without feeling overwhelmed and confused. If you are like most software developers, you probably experience these situations again and again. You try to define a path for your technical growth, but you lack a clear direction and don’t know how to progress. You are confused by the huge amount of information out there and simply don’t know what to do next

Three years ago, I faced a brutal truth. Up to that point, I had been writing dozens of lines of code. But, when asked to solve specific technical issues, I often realized I would get stuck on basic things. The harsh reality was I missed fundamental software knowledge.

Let me tell you a little secret... Suppose you want to realise the full potential of your developer career. To be paid generously for your skills and to never worry about money again. Then, you must build a system around it.