True, but that doesn't mean the behaviors are not mutually exclusive. For instance, there is a time in your life before you know how to code and there is a tim

True, but that doesn't mean the behaviors are not mutually exclusive. For instance, there is a time in your life before you know how to code and there is a time where you think you know how to code and then have to interview. I call this "Not Yet Engineer". There is then a time when you think you know how to code, but you lack discipline to execute within a team framework and a business context. I call this the "Junior Engineer" phase. After Junior Engineer, you are useful and can build things. Once you have discipline and have knowledge, then are a "Practitioner Engineer". This, for many people, is a terminal state and some companies call this senior engineer. However, I have seen many people go from inflated titles to Software Engineer at Amazon. Beyond Practitioner Engineer, the core aspect of being a "Senior Engineer" is the ability to lead one or two teams to build. Principal Engineers then talk at an organization level and think of things beyond two teams. The focus here is on strategy rather than day to day execution. Sadly, most companies don't understand the need for a parallel power structure to compete with management.