Junior, Medior, Senior, Expert experience in years - difference

What is the difference between Junior, Medior, Senior and Expert job position ? How many years of experience are required for Junior, Medior, Senior and Expert position ?

The difference between Junior, Medior, Senior and Expert job position is in experience. The level of experience can be evaluated in years, but this method is quick and not so accurate. For example, there are two accountants with 3 years of experience. The first one is focusing only on 1-2 accounts, but the second one is focusing on 4-5 accounts. Because of that, they don't have the same experience.

Experience evaluation in years:

• Junior position - no experience, or less than 2 years of experience
• Medior position - between 2 years and 5 years of experience
• Senior position - more than 5 years of experience

The level of experience depend also on industry and job position, so it may vary.

In software development, the evaluation of work experience for Junior, Medior and Senior job positions can be:

• Junior - no experience, or less than 1 year of experience
• Medior - between 1 year and 3 years of experience
• Senior - more than 3 years of experience

You should not evaluate the level of job candidate's experience only base on years of experience.

Some candidates may have more years of experience, but they could have been doing mostly a narrow range of duties within their job position. So you should not rely only on years of experience.

Probably the best way how to evaluate candidate's experience is to ask some relevant questions to get a better image about his / her knowledge.

You can also prepare some practical test to evaluate candidate's skills.

If you are looking for a software developer, you can test the programming skills by a practical test, that is called the coding test or coding challenge.

Evaluation of experience base on years worked is not very accurate. You should focus on evaluation of job candidate's skills, work duties complexity, autonomy and scope of impact.

You may have a job candidate with 3 years of experience and another job candidate with 4 years of experience. It doesn't automatically mean, that candidate with 4 years of experience is better or has a higher seniority level.

The definitions of junior, medior, senior and expert:

• Junior - Learning fundamentals. Working on basic tasks. Low autonomy. Needs daily guidance, supervision and step-by-step instructions.
• Medior - Works independently on standard projects. Begin mentoring juniors.
• Senior - Has experience with wide range of duties. Works on broader and more complex projects. Team leadership. Participating on strategic decisions. Teaching juniors.
• Expert - Master skills and experience. Influences company. Making strategic decisions. Helps seniors to solve problems.