Photo by Andrew George on Unsplash
These past days I decided to focus my energies on doing some research and studying for a position I really wanted to be part of as a Node.js developer (Back-end). As some of you would already know, my expertise lies in Frontend development, especially with React, Redux, and Graphql, or at least that's what I thought at the beginning...
I was afraid to apply for full-stack or back-end positions, I thought that I couldn't perform well in these areas because of my professional experience, but after some time of self-retrospective, I just realized that I always have been a full-stack developer without knowing it. The thing is that although in my last job I was given the title of Web UI developer, to be honest, I feel the industry always leans towards full-stack somehow, and in my last project we managed a Node.js server with Apollo server to extend the usability of GraphQL in our front-end with React, and it was something of our daily tasks to code in both repos after all. So that's it!! I already know Node.js so I can say that I have experience in the field, right?
Discover your hidden abilities!
After realizing this, it was an eureka moment for me! How can you be biased about your capabilities just because of the title some company gives to you? This also includes the seniority of course.
I started to detect those back-end skills and gain more confidence about it. Tried to analyze what and how do we managed in that Node.js repo. We were in charge of the API layer by collecting all the external APIs the Java team brought to us, like an API for users, another one for bag items, and so on, then we made the proper functions and logic to use that data and transform it to be consumable by our front-end project.
Does that sound familiar to you? Of course it is, because without knowing we were interacting every day in a MICROSERVICES ARCHITECTURE, I know it doesn't sound like a big deal, but for me it was like founding the one piece 💰
Why I'm so sure about this? well, after some research about microservices, a lot of things started to make sense to me, we had a Java team that created separate projects for each service, and those services were split by the business needs, being the case of an e-commerce. Then the DevOps team is in charge of all the infrastructure layer, to finally us getting all of those APIs to be consumed on a single Node.js server with Apollo.
Then I asked ChatGPT to give me some topics to study for a back-end position with Node.js, microservices being one of them, followed by understanding HTTP protocol and other stuff, stuff that I already knew and it was just a matter of time to research, and remember all of those things!
DON'T close yourself to the possibilities!
The point of all of this is to make you rethink your skill set and be able to know what you are capable of! don't close yourself just because someone told you that you're just a frontend or backend dev, junior or senior!
You always work with data structures, so do your research about it! get to know how you interact with those and search for examples, I'm sure you've been working with a lot of these, and even you can start thinking about your further solutions by applying data structures specifically.
Learn about algorithms! it is a topic you probably applied in some of the techniques in your daily problem-solving process. You will start to know about the complexity of a piece of code or function and you will start to think differently, seek how to improve performance, and solve memory leaks in your apps!
So, the sooner you start to discover your hidden skills, the sooner you can start to open your range of possibilities when looking for a job!
I stopped saying that I'm just a front-end developer, I know that I can perform well in a back-end position with Node.js, and I know that I can also apply for full-stack and backend positions without hesitation. So what are you waiting for? Go for it 💪🏻
Recently, I applied for a Node.js position, it went very well and I was even surprised of myself in both HR and Technical interviews that they loved my profile and knowledge, but unfortunately, they rejected me because the client didn't like my solution for a code challenge, it was easy but I made the mistake to work on that challenge when I was too tired after three interviews and a lot of study before it! I was in zombie mode 🧟 I could get to the solution but made a mess with the code because I wasn't thinking with a fresh mind
Yes, this is a reminder to all of you that rest is important, other than rushing your work and making a mess.
So that's it! this was the proof that I was able to apply to other positions. I would love to read your thoughts on this, I know it may vary depending on the role and technology, but sometimes there are core concepts and some experiences you had in the past that can make you able to get into other fields and succeed ✅
Top comments (2)
Great story.
To answer directly the title on your question, you should not "lower" your expectations, it will not work.
Good companies don't try to hire the "best" developers, first because they would not be able to tell, more importantly because what's the point if they find the work boring and want to leave ?
Companies want good enough developers that are motivated to work with them and therefore will learn the rest on the job.
Which is nice because you also want to be motivated when you go to work.
So yeah, to be a good candidate find something in the venn diagram of what motivates you and what you can realistically do/get.
Wow. Thanks for sharing!