Introduction

Ever caught yourself saying “I’m just a junior developer” when facing a challenging task? I’ve been there, and I’ve seen how this simple phrase can become a self-imposed ceiling that limits your growth.

Let’s talk about why this mindset is more harmful than you might think and the right mindset you should have as an engineer.

• The eye opening talk
• The benefits of removing such a label
• The Reality of Experience
• Breaking Free from the Label
• Conclusion

The eye opening talk

when I started my career, I always thought to myself that I am a junior because I don’t have two or five years of experience like other engineers.

I thought that I need five years of experience to be able to be a senior or even a good engineer, I thought experience is the key to grow, until I get this experience I am just a beginner. All of that changed when I meet a pilot in the Egyptian air lines 2 years ago.

When I meet this man he asked me how much will it take me to build an app for him from scratch and this is what happened:

Me: it will take me about 3 to 4 months because I am still a junior.

Pilot: what do you mean by this ?

Me: I mean I don’t have so much experience this is why I am junior and this why it could take me more time.

Pilot: Don’t ever label your self, you are just an iOS Engineer and that’s it.

And this was the eye opening conversation for me and from that day on, I never said to anyone or even wrote it in the CV that I am a “Junior iOS Engineer”, I just say instead “iOS Engineer”.

The benefits of removing such a label

When you constantly remind yourself that you’re “just a junior,” you’re unconsciously setting boundaries around what you can achieve.

Think about it: would you approach a complex system architecture problem differently if you didn’t have that label hanging over your head?

When I started to remove that label from everything I become unstoppable. because at this point I knew I can do what I imagined to build because I am just a “Software Engineer” without any labels.

For example when I started to face some challenges while working, I always say to my self:

I am a software engineer so I can build anything, I just need to figure it out.

So instead of saying “I’m too junior for this,” just say “I haven’t solved this type of problem yet.” Notice the difference? One is a fixed state and the other is a growth opportunity.

The Reality of Experience

Here’s something that might surprise you: that “senior” engineer you look up to? They’re probably googling solutions just as much as you are. The difference isn’t in knowing everything, it’s in their approach to not knowing.

Consider this scenario:

• Junior mindset: “I don’t know how to fix this production bug. I should wait for a senior developer.”

• Growth mindset: “I haven’t debugged this type of issue before. Let me try these troubleshooting steps and document what I learn.”

This mindset difference is the key for growing as a software engineer not the years of experience you have in that filed.

What will make you a senior one day isn’t the experience but rather the mindset of growing and learning consistently. So how can we break from this label ?

Breaking Free from the Label

To be able to break free from this label you basically need to change how you perceive your self. People look at you the same way you look at your self.

So instead of focusing on your “junior” status, try:

• Tracking Your Wins: Keep a “success journal” of problems you’ve solved, no matter how small. This builds evidence against that inner critic.
• Changing Your Language: Replace “I’m just a junior” with “I’m a developer working on [specific skill].”
• Taking Ownership: Volunteer for tasks slightly outside your comfort zone. You’ll be surprised how often you can handle them.
• Learning Publicly: Share what you learn, even if it seems basic to you. Teaching others reinforces your knowledge and builds confidence.

To grow your mindset I encourage you to try the following:

• Remove “just” and “only” from your professional vocabulary
• Focus on specific skills rather than general labels
• Celebrate your problem-solving successes
• Share your knowledge, however basic it might seem to you

And always keep in mind the real measure of a developer or engineer isn’t by the years of experience they have but instead by how they approach a problem, willingness to learn, resilience when facing challenges and the most important is the ability to communicate and collaborate with the team.

Conclusion

For the next month, try this experiment: Every time you’re about to say “I’m just a junior developer,” replace it with “I’m a developer working on [specific skill]” and notice how this subtle shift changes your approach to challenges.

And Remember, every “senior” developer was once in your shoes. The difference is, the best ones never stopped learning, never stopped growing, and never let labels define their capabilities.

You’re not “just” a junior developer. You’re a developer, period. And every day, you’re growing, learning, and adding new skills to your toolkit.