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"Why Most Self-Taught Devs Choose Full-Stack Over Front-End" is a video that explores the motivations behind self-taught developers favoring full-stack development over specializing solely in front-end development. The creator likely discusses various reasons, such as broader job opportunities, versatility in project involvement, and the ability to see a project through from start to finish. They may also touch upon the appeal of being able to work on both client and server-side aspects of web development, as well as the potential for higher earning potential and career advancement. Viewers can expect insights into the factors driving self-taught developers' career choices in the tech industry.
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0:00
As a software engineer making over $200,000 a year, why did I choose front-end development over full-stack
0:06
And is it true that most self-taught devs end up going full-stack instead of front-end
0:11
Why is that? I was asked these questions a couple days ago, so we're going to talk about that in this video
0:16
But first, are you planning to become a front-end developer or full-stack developer? Drop a comment and let me know
0:22
When I was first starting out several years ago, I decided that I was going to focus first on front-end development
0:28
because there's just so much to learn and I wanted to try to get really good at something
0:32
to get really proficient in an area that was in high demand
0:36
At the time, that was going to be AngularJS and building front-end single-page applications
0:41
And so that is where I decided to focus, but I completely had the plan that eventually I wanted to really expand things
0:48
and start working on a bunch of things and do full-stack. But on that short term, I leveraged back-end as a service tools and stuff like Firebase to handle the back-end for me
0:57
So I could just really concentrate on developing those front-end skills. When I landed my first software engineering job at an enterprise-type company, it was actually full-stack
1:07
We were building hybrid mobile applications where we had to store data on the device
1:13
and then also be able to sync it up to our back-end services
1:17
So I did have the opportunity to get some experience there. But my next job, it was listed as a job for front-end development with some full-stack work
1:26
which excited me. I was like, okay, that'll be cool. That'll give me the opportunity to continue to do more of the full-stack stuff
1:32
But that's not actually how things turned out at that company. I ended up doing front-end development for the whole time that I was there
1:40
I expressed interest to do more of the full-stack and more back-end work on one of my projects
1:45
And everyone was like, that's great. That's awesome. We totally support you on that
1:49
Everyone was on board. My manager was on board. And then they just kept piling more and more front-end projects and features
1:56
And so in the end, I ended up working on front-end and just didn't have time to really get back into doing any of the back-end work
2:04
But that wasn't totally a bad thing because I started to realize that this imbalance
2:09
where there was significantly fewer front-end devs than there were back-end devs
2:14
created leverage that I could use to grow my compensation and my career
2:18
And naturally, because I was so focused on front-end, that's where I was able to really specialize and develop some skills
2:25
When I was applying to my current job, they were looking for a front-end specialist who was also willing to do back-end
2:30
So I'm like, hey, cool. It's going to give me the chance to, again, work across the stack
2:34
But that's not exactly how things turned out. I did do a short stint where I had to learn some Scala and work on an API
2:42
But I have primarily been focused on front-end development. The demand for UI resources was just really high, and I am trying to fit in some Java right now
2:50
But I'm rolling with it because I'm in a situation where there's a lot of high demand for UI work
2:54
and this keeps me busy and also feeling very valuable. Before we get to the next question, I just really want to emphasize that it was not my goal to stay in front-end
3:03
In a large part, it was the strong demand for UI that helped me realize the value of this specialization
3:10
And whenever you're in a situation where there are a lot of teams that are fighting for your time, you are in a great position career-wise
3:16
But that may not last forever, and if that does ever change, then I'll probably just spread myself out into other areas
3:21
and change some things so that I can keep things interesting. So the next question is, why do most self-taught devs choose full-stack over front-end
3:30
Now, I'm not sure the source of the data backing that question up from a numbers perspective
3:35
and I'm not sure that I even agree with it, but given that if the number of people who chose full-stack was 51%
3:41
then you could make that argument. Maybe a more interesting question is, why do self-taught devs choose full-stack over front-end
3:51
And here are some reasons that come to mind. First, a lot of courses like Free Code Camp and Odin Project cover things from a full-stack perspective
4:00
so naturally, anyone who's going down the self-taught route and using those resources is likely to also do the back-end components
4:09
and to focus on becoming a full-stack developer. The same goes for boot camps
4:14
If someone sees that there are a lot of boot camps that are promoting full-stack courses
4:18
they could think that that's what you have to do. Another reason could be job listings
4:23
In my experience, a lot of the job listings are for full-stack software engineers
4:27
even though the team actually wants to see a specialization. At least, that's been the case with most of the job offers that I've received
4:35
And that doesn't even mean that you're actually going to do full-stack work for them, because a lot of times you won't
4:41
Another reason is that I think a lot of self-taught software engineers really feel pressured to know everything in order to feel confident enough to get a job
4:49
They believe that full-stack is going to make them more valuable and competitive
4:53
The truth is that it really comes down to the type of company. At a small startup, being full-stack can really help because you're going to have to wear a lot of hats
5:01
and so you could be delivering a lot of value. And that could be what they're looking for
5:06
But at a lot of larger companies, they might prefer the specialists who can do full-stack if needed
5:11
but who are really good, who are experts in some particular area
5:15
And frankly, another reason is that UI work just isn't for everyone. It's going to often involve a lot of collaboration with product, designers, customers
5:23
And some people just prefer focusing on solving logical problems rather than styling HTML components
5:29
They might still do full-stack because they understand the value of their front-end skills
5:33
but they opt for full-stack to focus more on other things that keep it interesting for them
5:39
Which is fine because it's quite normal to like some aspects of software engineering and not others
5:44
Even within front-end development, some front-end devs really are super passionate about CSS
5:50
Admittedly, building out a UI taps into my creativity, which is something that I really like
5:55
but I actually prefer working with JavaScript over CSS. CSS is necessary, but sometimes an annoying aspect of the process
6:03
I really like building single-page applications that have a lot of problem solving
6:07
I'd be miserable in a front-end position that was mostly styling and very little JavaScript
6:13
But neither is a better approach. Each is valuable and fills specific needs
6:17
For a lot of folks just getting started in software development, the fixation on full-stack development can be quite harmful
6:23
I share why and what to do about it in this video. Thanks for watching. Lates
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