What do you mean by "journeyman" in programming?

Answer 1

A journeyman is a tradesman or craftsman who may well have completed an apprenticeship but is not yet able to set up his or her own workshop as a master. In parts of Europe, as in later medieval Germany, spending time as a journeyman (Geselle), moving from one town to another to gain experience of different workshops, was an important part of the training of an aspirant master. In later medieval England, however, most journeymen remained as employees throughout their careers, lacking the financial resources to set up their own workshops.

The word 'journeyman' comes from the French word journée, meaning the period of one day; this refers to his right to charge a fee for each day's work. He or she would normally be employed by a master craftsman, but would live apart and might have a family of his own. A journeyman could not employ others. In contrast, an apprentice would be bound to a master, usually for a fixed term of seven years, and lived with the master as a member of the household.

Answer 2

It's a throwback to the old days of guilds in the middle ages. An apprentice worked directly under a guild master, who oversaw his every move. After a few years, he achieved "journeyman" status. This meant he was still under the supervision of a guild master, but was able to do at least some projects on his own. Typically journeymen would travel (journey) to rural areas, small towns, etc. to provide services otherwise unavailable to those outside the larger cities. They would do tasks in their field of expertise, but were not expected to provide "master" quality. After several years, they would achieve guild master status, and have apprentices/journemen of their own.
Essentially, a journeyman is someone skilled, but not a master, working under supervision of another. It is also assumed they are "on the job training" to obtain master status.