IME, you are over estimating how quickly this happens.
For me, I was well past my 10th year into the profession when this realization struck. And now, as a hiring manager, I frequently interview senior developers who are not able to explain the business goals of their software. I consider it an important part of my job to coach engineers in my org to understand the business context of their work - a benefit I got only well into my career.
Totally anecdotal, but the second I embraced business objectives and commercial thinking is when my career exploded. 3 jobs in 2 years, and my income grew over 110% in that timeframe.
A lot of my colleagues seem to get stuck in a position of being very tech focused where JIRA tickets go in, and code comes out (and not much else goes on).
I highly recommend other developers try to sharpen their business and commercial skills, even if you don't want to be a leader. You'll be able to sell your skills and influence technical decisions way easier.
Agree. I think the general shift in perspective and how the world works ( with respect to money, business, economy and people ) happens somewhere around 8 - 12 years into the society.
So for those who joined the Work force or has some work experience earlier in age that tends to happen sooner / younger.
For me, I was well past my 10th year into the profession when this realization struck. And now, as a hiring manager, I frequently interview senior developers who are not able to explain the business goals of their software. I consider it an important part of my job to coach engineers in my org to understand the business context of their work - a benefit I got only well into my career.