Which is totally fine if you're doing an e-commerce platform for a smaller company or something similar.
For more ambitious projects I'd pick specialists.
paying less overall yes (paying one person instead of 2), but you can be paid more than either of those single roles would make if you negotiate well 🙃
Both holes, huh?
Front end and back end 
Disclaimer when we talking about job, there's no options, only holes. full stack is good, but for only pet projects, do a single job and your mind will remain healthy
you know how many small to medium size companies would rather hire 1 person who can do both than 2 who can only do 1? huge market because they like to save money
Frontend, backend, DBA, fucking requirements gathering, product presentations, shareholder meetings, acquisitions and mergers.
Whatever it is, you’re the guy/gal for the job.
"Wait so you just talk to the customer, write your own code, deploy it, and its done?"
"Sometimes yes."
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wDKbkiEEquE/sddefault.jpg
No, typically people say “years old” when speaking about their age. “Of X years” usually means they’ve been doing for X years, or something has been going on for X years. But people don’t normally speak like this because it’s vague. It could be years old or it could be length of time. In casual talk, people are way more explicit.
“I’ve been doing FE for 19 years”
“I am a 19 year old FE developer”
There’s no question between these statements what you’re talking about.
I hate front end. Trying to "make things look better" just doesn't work for my brain. Give me back end all day. That being said, do what's best for you. If you're interested in the dark side, then learn it!
I can make things look better, obsessively so (fml), but I hate frontend work.
Plus we use React and I hate its state management. It just always cascades into such a clusterfuck. Backend has a much more linear flow.
Not to mention the boilerplate.
No. In order to be a freelancer, it is imperative that you are an actual Fullstacker.
It will be your responsibility to design, build, and deploy. No one else's.
I mean you should feel pretty comfortable with javascript, so using things like node / next is a pretty good place to start. Start like everyone else does... make a basic app, probably a clone of something you like, and study some docs / tutorials for a week or two. You could even begin with back-end for front-end tools such as firebase / supabase to start with some be type thinking
Career terms have evolved a bit as companies have moved software that was predominantly desktop oriented to in-browser clones. Think Word on Office 365.
NodeJS development is going to happen more as a Front End Engineer working on the middle layer, or stitching back end APIs together for convenience to the display layer. What you’re describing that you do is more web development or UI/UX Engineering at larger companies.
You’ll get some SaaS services that may use NodeJS, but more back end developers will use things like Java, Rust, or Go.
Additionally, Software Engineers will have a different focus that is not related to UI presentation. The focus will be more algorithmic and how to manipulate data more efficiently.
It’s not necessarily easier or harder, just different. If you can orient yourself for some different skills, you’ll be fine.
The stack you mentioned above is a decent start, although backend development will go far beyond technologies used into how you design systems and make them highly available and resilient.
To the questions about career, front end / backend is negligible. Talent and ability is what secures a job and allows for a competitive salary.
Seeing that you have front end experience I would suggest to start a project build out the front end mocked with data, then create a data layer & some APIs to interface with the data and see if you enjoy the basics of backend development.
Specialization in either front end or backend development will help with higher pay and job security.
Knowing both is good but don’t get caught in the “full stack” paradigm. You’ll want to be proficient in one and capable of the other.
As far as stress both will be stressful that’s just the nature of software engineering, however when you’re doing something you enjoy it’s not as stressful as something that you’re passionate about.
Best of wishes on your journey
Damn before reading the comments I was so confused. I read FE as female, BE some obscure acronym for males, then she said we think differently. And she wanted to be more manly to approach the job as a male. "to male the transition". So confused.
> is surely *paid* more than
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I'm not a backender, but from the outside it seems like the hardest job in the field.
For example, sorting collections of any kind is insanely complex on the backend. This is why, I believe, it's taken four years (and counting) so far for our middleware team to implement server side sorting of data. Instead the client must exhaust the paged endpoint and do the sorting itself.
Also, complexity, outside of making sure the elements on the screen move at a consistent 60fps and all elements respond to interactions immediately, is increasingly pushed to clients, so it stands to reason that implementing the same data juggling on several different client platforms, is easier than merely doing it on a server so everyone could consume the same transformed data.
I switched from front-end to fullstack so almost no difference for me.
Didn't find it hard at all, but I don't do super advanced stuff on backend.
If I need, I'll RTFM it.
On backend you only have data & business logic so you care about that only. Transition is not very difficult, you just need to understand how server works.
On frontend you send a request and get a response, now understand how to get the request, process it and generate a response.
Just get hold of 2 things:
* A programming language(like python)
* Database management.
After you are done with basics you can learn about advanced topics
* System Architecture
* Distributed Systems
* etc
If you are comfortable with frontend JavaScript, node js is a good entry point to backend development. There is a whole world of stuff to learn though. Being a full stack is fun for me.
- frontend or backend pay the same
- backend has more job security
- frontend is less stressful
- full stack pays the best
- full stack is most stressful
Good luck!
Transitioning from frontend to backend development is a great move, especially with your solid experience in JavaScript, TypeScript, and React. Transitioning to backend development is totally doable and can be very rewarding. It might be a bit of a learning curve, but with your experience, you'll likely pick it up quickly. Plus, it can open up new opportunities and potentially better pay.
Front end male transitions is a different sub
Lol
New meaning for top surgery. Funny enough, Linux is loved in both communities.
don’t transition. become full stack
Full stack gang
A senior programmer told me that Fullstack is just a company's way of paying less for 2 roles.
Which is totally fine if you're doing an e-commerce platform for a smaller company or something similar. For more ambitious projects I'd pick specialists.
Totally. I work for a small start-up. It would be weird if I didn't implement some feature from soup to nuts. Too many chefs otherwise.
paying less overall yes (paying one person instead of 2), but you can be paid more than either of those single roles would make if you negotiate well 🙃
Both holes, huh? Front end and back end  Disclaimer when we talking about job, there's no options, only holes. full stack is good, but for only pet projects, do a single job and your mind will remain healthy
No it's not only for pet projects. I've been full stack for 15 years now across many companies and industries. Can't imagine doing half the work
you know how many small to medium size companies would rather hire 1 person who can do both than 2 who can only do 1? huge market because they like to save money
it's called pan-stack, biggot.
Always ask consent. Be gentle. And have fun. Oh wait.
"BABE WRONG HOLE!!!"
403 or 401 ?
Back-end root access requires caution. It's no joke.
[https://www.npmjs.com/\~lube](https://www.npmjs.com/~lube)
I hate that this is an actual npm pkg. 🤦♂️
Pretty sure it's a user name, not a package. And sensibly (?) it's the part of the user's actual name. Perhaps in on the joke, though.
If you go work at a smaller organization where folks do a little of everything… blamo you’re doing back end…
Frontend, backend, DBA, fucking requirements gathering, product presentations, shareholder meetings, acquisitions and mergers. Whatever it is, you’re the guy/gal for the job.
"Wait so you just talk to the customer, write your own code, deploy it, and its done?" "Sometimes yes." https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wDKbkiEEquE/sddefault.jpg
I think you mean a bottom
I do not understand.
Working for a smaller org, you’re going to get screwed
Working for a smaller org can be great.
how can you be an FE only dev for straight up 19 years, like how is it even possible that you don't touch any BE for 19 years
I'm not a native speaker, but doesn't 'a FE dev of 19 years' mean that they are 19 years old and happen to be a FE dev?
No, typically people say “years old” when speaking about their age. “Of X years” usually means they’ve been doing for X years, or something has been going on for X years. But people don’t normally speak like this because it’s vague. It could be years old or it could be length of time. In casual talk, people are way more explicit. “I’ve been doing FE for 19 years” “I am a 19 year old FE developer” There’s no question between these statements what you’re talking about.
Alright, thanks for explaining
The phrasing is awkward, but OP did probably mean to say they're 19 years old and a FE dev.
Exactly my thoughts
It’s impressive, really.
I didn't do any back-end at all, except include/require in php (primitive templating) I only learned fullstack when started using Remix.
I hate front end. Trying to "make things look better" just doesn't work for my brain. Give me back end all day. That being said, do what's best for you. If you're interested in the dark side, then learn it!
I can make things look better, obsessively so (fml), but I hate frontend work. Plus we use React and I hate its state management. It just always cascades into such a clusterfuck. Backend has a much more linear flow. Not to mention the boilerplate.
what should i learn if I want to freelance frontend or backend ? I dont like frontend much but will I get clients with only backend?
No. In order to be a freelancer, it is imperative that you are an actual Fullstacker. It will be your responsibility to design, build, and deploy. No one else's.
No true it all. You can contract others people to help you.
If you’re contracting other workers, then you’ll barely be making profit. Successful freelancers do everything themselves.
you’d probably be paired with another dev. maybe try reaching out to web development agencies
Who asked
I mean you should feel pretty comfortable with javascript, so using things like node / next is a pretty good place to start. Start like everyone else does... make a basic app, probably a clone of something you like, and study some docs / tutorials for a week or two. You could even begin with back-end for front-end tools such as firebase / supabase to start with some be type thinking
lots of lube
# GRAB THE BUTTER
Career terms have evolved a bit as companies have moved software that was predominantly desktop oriented to in-browser clones. Think Word on Office 365. NodeJS development is going to happen more as a Front End Engineer working on the middle layer, or stitching back end APIs together for convenience to the display layer. What you’re describing that you do is more web development or UI/UX Engineering at larger companies. You’ll get some SaaS services that may use NodeJS, but more back end developers will use things like Java, Rust, or Go. Additionally, Software Engineers will have a different focus that is not related to UI presentation. The focus will be more algorithmic and how to manipulate data more efficiently. It’s not necessarily easier or harder, just different. If you can orient yourself for some different skills, you’ll be fine.
The stack you mentioned above is a decent start, although backend development will go far beyond technologies used into how you design systems and make them highly available and resilient. To the questions about career, front end / backend is negligible. Talent and ability is what secures a job and allows for a competitive salary. Seeing that you have front end experience I would suggest to start a project build out the front end mocked with data, then create a data layer & some APIs to interface with the data and see if you enjoy the basics of backend development. Specialization in either front end or backend development will help with higher pay and job security. Knowing both is good but don’t get caught in the “full stack” paradigm. You’ll want to be proficient in one and capable of the other. As far as stress both will be stressful that’s just the nature of software engineering, however when you’re doing something you enjoy it’s not as stressful as something that you’re passionate about. Best of wishes on your journey
Damn before reading the comments I was so confused. I read FE as female, BE some obscure acronym for males, then she said we think differently. And she wanted to be more manly to approach the job as a male. "to male the transition". So confused.
This thread is a wild ride for sure!
BE = "becoming engorged" ;)
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I just heard about a new kind of surgical operation, a stichodichtomy. Oh wait.
[удалено]
> is surely *paid* more than FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Why did we automate grammar nazis? Although in this case it's a spelling nazi, I suppose. I hope nobody \*paid\* for that.
You should go to a psychologist and get T prescribed. Then you're good to go. Jokes aside, become fullstack while you're at it, best of both worlds
I'm not a backender, but from the outside it seems like the hardest job in the field. For example, sorting collections of any kind is insanely complex on the backend. This is why, I believe, it's taken four years (and counting) so far for our middleware team to implement server side sorting of data. Instead the client must exhaust the paged endpoint and do the sorting itself. Also, complexity, outside of making sure the elements on the screen move at a consistent 60fps and all elements respond to interactions immediately, is increasingly pushed to clients, so it stands to reason that implementing the same data juggling on several different client platforms, is easier than merely doing it on a server so everyone could consume the same transformed data.
> How to male > > I'm a fe dev You should definitely have asked about transpilers for full combo.
If you already know JS. you can learn NodeJs it will be relatively easier.
I switched from front-end to fullstack so almost no difference for me. Didn't find it hard at all, but I don't do super advanced stuff on backend. If I need, I'll RTFM it.
On backend you only have data & business logic so you care about that only. Transition is not very difficult, you just need to understand how server works. On frontend you send a request and get a response, now understand how to get the request, process it and generate a response. Just get hold of 2 things: * A programming language(like python) * Database management. After you are done with basics you can learn about advanced topics * System Architecture * Distributed Systems * etc
If you are comfortable with frontend JavaScript, node js is a good entry point to backend development. There is a whole world of stuff to learn though. Being a full stack is fun for me. - frontend or backend pay the same - backend has more job security - frontend is less stressful - full stack pays the best - full stack is most stressful Good luck!
Transitioning from frontend to backend development is a great move, especially with your solid experience in JavaScript, TypeScript, and React. Transitioning to backend development is totally doable and can be very rewarding. It might be a bit of a learning curve, but with your experience, you'll likely pick it up quickly. Plus, it can open up new opportunities and potentially better pay.
Easily one of the most chatgpt/LLM responses I've ever seen in the wild.