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General Discussion

Andre Vu
Andre Vu
5,001 Points
Posted by Andre Vu
Andre Vu
5,001 Points

Do Fullstack JS Developers have an Advantage over Front End developers in terms of employment opportunities currently?

I'd planned to become an expert in Front End, but is Full Stack more advantageous in the current market? I've seen an influx of full stack JS dev listings on Indeed, I think possibly due to the lack of budget of companies. But both seem viable. Any expert opinions would be greatly appreciated.

stjarnan
seal-mask
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points
stjarnan
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points

Happy to help, if you ever feel like you have more questions you are free to add me on LinkedIn. I'm easy to reach there (Trying to improve my network too, for that matter! ). You can find it in my Treehouse profile.

/ Jonas

2 Answers

stjarnan
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.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points
stjarnan
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points

Hi Andre,

Why had you planned to become a front-end expert? Is it because you enjoy it the most? Then I recommend you to go that route. When it comes to the market it definitely depends on location, but in general I'd say that both Techdegrees are great options. You can't go wrong. And I would recommend you to go with what sounds like the most fun for you.

My experience? I finished the FEWD Techdegree, and the back end scared me. I landed a job less than 30 days after finishing the program, and I am now working full-stack depending on the tasks needed to be done on my project. I simply kept learning on the job.

You can't go wrong, just go with what you enjoy working with the most.

I hope this helps you, Jonas

Andre Vu
Andre Vu
5,001 Points
Andre Vu
Andre Vu
5,001 Points

Thank you so much Jonas! Your reply was very helpful. Yes I enjoy Front End very much, so I will follow a similar path in my life as yours. Thank you once again!

Andre

jrs0801
jrs0801
259 Points
jrs0801
jrs0801
259 Points

Most full stack devs suck. There's so much to learn on both ends, and by focusing on both you never truly master any one. In truth masters are more in demand and make the most. Not the jack of all trades.

Also the type of companies that hiring full stacks are the types you wouldn't want to work for in the first place.

stjarnan
seal-mask
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points
stjarnan
.a{fill-rule:evenodd;}techdegree seal-36
stjarnan
Front End Web Development Techdegree Graduate 56,488 Points

Hi jrs0801,

I honestly don't agree with you at all here.

"Most full stack devs suck" You are basing that comment on what?

"Also the type of companies that hiring full stacks are the types you wouldn't want to work for in the first place." Again, based on what?

Using some of the popular stacks it's rather easy to be able to work on both sides without problems. And while definitions of what exactly a full stack dev really is (like recruiters out there expecting a developer to be an expert of everything to be a full stack dev), many companies view a full stack developer as someone who for example has his core skills in Node.js and paired technologies like MongoDB and Express, while at the same time has this general view of the rest of the stack like maybe React or Angular. This person might be using his core skillset 95% of the time, but if you're on a deadline, someone gets ill and so on, it's really nice to have developers on the team with the ability to do some work on the other parts of the stack even if it's not part of that person's core skillset.

Working with someone who has a general view of the entire stack is also nice as this person might know how to handle things to make it easier for the rest of the team working on other parts of the application.

Just like here: https://teamtreehouse.com/community/you-dont-need-a-college-degree-to-be-a-web-developer-but-for-mobile-you-do it seems like you have been fed with bad or dated information.

I realize I might come off as harsh, but I know things like these can make other students unsure of whether their choice really is a good one. And knowing myself that both these tracks are good enough to lead you to great jobs, I feel the need to post this.

/ Jonas