The terms CEO/CTO/etc. haven't lost their meaning with all of the startups out there (some pretty poor), why would years of experience necessarily dictate that a quality engineer cannot reach that position so quickly?
In my case, I continually hone my craft outside of work (with some breaks here and there) - I spend a lot of time learning, digesting new patterns, and assessing then. I read articles, and spin up many projects to experiment hands on with the technology, patterns, etc. My abstract depth was already sharpened from my time as a math PhD student (ultimately dropped out), and spending 2 1/2 years unemployed from having trouble finding work whetted my appetite for working to an insatiable degree. The Marine Corps enhanced my innate leadership traits, which I then took the lessons learned and applied them to leading a team (which I had to do as an acting tech lead when the tech lead had to take leave due to a family death), as well as generally carrying myself.
I earned the senior title through domain expertise at an exceptional level, and with a bit of luck achieving it in a piece of tech that exploded in popularity just afterwards (AngularJS). I have been seriously recruited as a lead developer for about a year, although I have turned down such positions for a while since I did not consider myself ready at the time.
The one thing I appreciate about being in the Bay area is that companies here recognize that such talent can exist, and such people may not even be unique. In most of the country, I probably would be still a mid-level developer, and not given the opportunity to demonstrate I would be a capable senior developer, much less lead developer.
In my case, I continually hone my craft outside of work (with some breaks here and there) - I spend a lot of time learning, digesting new patterns, and assessing then. I read articles, and spin up many projects to experiment hands on with the technology, patterns, etc. My abstract depth was already sharpened from my time as a math PhD student (ultimately dropped out), and spending 2 1/2 years unemployed from having trouble finding work whetted my appetite for working to an insatiable degree. The Marine Corps enhanced my innate leadership traits, which I then took the lessons learned and applied them to leading a team (which I had to do as an acting tech lead when the tech lead had to take leave due to a family death), as well as generally carrying myself.
I earned the senior title through domain expertise at an exceptional level, and with a bit of luck achieving it in a piece of tech that exploded in popularity just afterwards (AngularJS). I have been seriously recruited as a lead developer for about a year, although I have turned down such positions for a while since I did not consider myself ready at the time.
The one thing I appreciate about being in the Bay area is that companies here recognize that such talent can exist, and such people may not even be unique. In most of the country, I probably would be still a mid-level developer, and not given the opportunity to demonstrate I would be a capable senior developer, much less lead developer.