In tech industry - Staff engineer or solution architect?

Hi everyone,

Firstly, thank-you for your attention.

I’m a backend engineer with ~4.5 years of experience trying to figure out the right long-term direction for my career.

Background:

•	Education: BCA

•	1.5 years at Big4 working on SQL-heavy banking systems and compliance work.

•	\~3 years at a fintech startup building backend systems.  

Tech stack: (let me know if i should learn more)

Python, Django, DRF, REST APIs, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, AWS (Lambda, S3, SQS, SNS, EventBridge, API Gateway), Docker, Linux, Jenkins.

Most of my work involves backend systems, microservices, and event-driven architectures in payments/fintech environments.

I enjoy coding and building systems, but I also want to become an all-rounder who understands architecture and scalability.

Right now for my where do i see myself in 5 years is I’m considering paths like Staff Engineer or Solution Architect, but I’m not sure if those are the best directions.

Questions:

•	What career trajectories would make sense from here?

•	Should I focus on becoming a deep IC (Staff/Principal) or move toward architecture roles?

•	What other paths should I consider?

Would really appreciate advice from people further along in their careers .