The front-end and back-end of web development offer different challenges and opportunities. Which one do you find more compelling, and why? Let's chat about it in the comments!
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Top comments (31)
I never planned to work with either when I was a kid. I planned for a career in advertising. Then the www happened, and it was so much more exciting than print - and I was hooked.
For about half my life I've worked both front end and some full-stack. And I like both front and back end. Though I do find the psychology in creating good user experiences more fascinating than optimizing back end for clock speed.
Backend for ever, at least until I can get over my fear of CSS.
Tried Tailwindcss yet? I started Frontend with it and could never imagine writing a "normal" css file. 😅
Actually yes. So straightforward for CSS that it felt like cheating. I'll still colorblind and stuff though
How about being just a good coder and do whatever the job needs?
That's not exactly how this works. You can be an awesome front-end dev, master all the React hooks etc. But when the job requires you to program a micro-controller in ASM, you would probably be quite clueless, not to mention writing a good maintainable code. It's just too different from what you usually do.
And it can be very different between FE and BE too.
When I started there was no distinction between frontend and backend. Fullstack was simply the norm. Sure there are specialisations especially in the amount of abstraction. Sure it's harder from higher level languages down towards the machine itself, but this is universal. Solid fundamentals will allow you to pick up most things fairly quickly.
I don't know when this was, but isn't the reason that things were infinitely simpler back then?
When I started there was no backend or frontend, but also fullstack was not a norm. There was a "web developer". Everything was server-rendered, with maybe some JS sprinkled on top. Frontend did not exist as a thing, hence there was no notion of fullstack. These are all contemporary terms, an anachronism if you will.
Today both stacks have a lot of complexity and perhaps there are some people that have an equally great grasp of both, but it's a rarity. Usually we all are T-shaped engineers with clearly distinctive specialization in one area over the other.
Honestly, I think things are way easier now. But this is exactly part of the problem: Making it easier added a lot of abstraction and thus people don't even learn the fundamentals anymore.
As we all know, simple is not the same as easy ;) Yes, things are easier now, because complexity is hidden and abstracted away. But it's still there and tends to bite in the most unexpected moments.
I am a full-stack developer by job title, but my interests and skills are pretty lopsided towards backend, and most of the work I do is backend.
To me, working on frontend inherently feels unproductive, because of all the time spent pixel-pushing and iterating on designs aspects rather than function. It's a perception thing, because I naturally don't care that much about design, and am more interested in function. I'm sure people who care more about design feel more productive than I do when doing frontend stuff.
Put another way, to me frontend feels like spending a lot of time perfecting aspects of a product that I feel are less important. So I really enjoy working in the backend, where I can focus on the "important" part (to me): making robust, clean code that fulfills functional requirements. For some reason I also especially enjoy working with databases, writing gnarly SQL queries and optimizing them, something that is entirely absent from frontend work.
By reading what you told about frontend it seems like you have barely worked with any functional part of programming like managing states , using hooks , state management tools. But u have done some css only . Dude, now we have framework like nextjs and more than 80% of companies in world can rely on this full stack technology unlike bigger corporations. So looks like your job is in danger, grow up.
I'm sorry if I upset you, it certainly wasn't my intention. Currently most of the frontend work I do is with Nuxt. I have also used React and Gatsby a fair amount. I have not used Next yet.
Back end for the most part, at least for my actual job, and I have fewer arguments over how things "should" be done with other back-enders.
Front-end can be fun, though; it's nice to have something you can show product stakeholders beyond a little green tick.
We've illustrated the struggle, personally I'm working as a backend.
Used to do frontend too, however i found out working with servers is much more enjoyable for me.
backend by day, frontend by night!
I would define myself as "back of the frontend / front of the backend". Architecture of the frontend, and what goes over the wire, are probably what I enjoy the most. I'm definitely not "front of the frontend", I lack the "creative" skills that go with it despite being somewhat fascinated by what people manage to achieve. Wrt backend, I strive for keeping things simple (mostly monoliths, without frameworks)
It's important to choose a path that aligns with your interests and strengths, while also considering the job market and career opportunities in your desired field. Both back-end and front-end development are important and necessary components of web development, and having a strong understanding of both can be highly valuable in today's job market.
I do back-end as actual work and front-end as hobby. But needless to say I like doing both.
But with backend if something doesn't work it's easier to see why with errors.
If some CSS doesn't go the right way I want it, I just ask online for help or make something different altogether.
I've been into front-end since it was simply called "web development". Love the psychology aspect of UI interaction, and I won't deny, it's pretty gratifying to know that your work is actually visible to the user.
That being said, I have a huge respect for the backend work, and I'm lucky enough to have a job that keeps me always broadening my knowledge throughout the stacks.
Just like I try to learn a new natural language per year or learn a new dance style per year, I also make sure to learn a new programming language or specialty each year.
Front-end fanatic forever! (try to come up with a better alliteration, back-end boys!)
I have been doing Front-end for more than half of my life and I'm not exactly young anymore.
I would prefer specializing in backend while still having a working knowledge of frontend!
I have definitely been a front-end fanatic forever, but am now realizing that I really want to develop my back-end skills more!