Becoming a Systems Architect
> I can see, that I’m indeed a Systems Architect, and not a Software Engineer anymore.<p>I find this distinction harmful. Are we going back to the days where there were programmers who did the grunt work and architects who told them what to do?<p>I prefer how my company career ladder, where there are no architect titles. Each level is 'fractal', containing almost the same responsibilities but at different scales and scope.<p>So for example, as a Junior Engineer you will define the design (architecture) of a feature within a service, while as a Staff Engineer you will oversee the architecture of a system spanning several teams. This way architecture is everyone's responsibility, and people have a natural path to grow their skills.