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Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

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Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#91

Post by casper345 »

Right now yes, in the near future, probably not. As automation and better services come out, website development will be one of the first jobs to be replaced by this. Although services like Wordpress, Wix, have their problems, they get better and better every day. In the future, no one will be coding websites/not a viable career option (people may just code on the side website for really niche things)

It is a great launchpad to do other programming besides web dev. Go into web dev, because there is a lot of cool tech in it and lessons. But learn other technologies as well that will not be replaced by automation.

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#92

Post by comprev »

6 months will teach you how to copy/paste code from StackOverflow and update the code for latest $JS_FRAMEWORK. You'll get by with "just enough" knowledge for a career in web dev.

Invest your time - over a period of YEARS - into studying computer science, where coding is only a small part of the course.

Then you'll be able to expand your career far beyond just Node web dev.

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#93

Post by probinso »

yes.

Computing disciplines aren't easy, so you're best off following your interests as you get started (self directed or otherwise); with the goal of sufficient skills in completion of a product. Move laterally, instead of deep prior to your first job, or until you have a more diverse understanding of the technology space. That'll paint your first job; there you'll do what you're payed for, and that can totally reshape you. This repeats forever.

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#94

Post by anonu »

I think it totally is a viable career choice. My company is looking to hire web devs.

I feel like good web devs require a tremendous amount of knowledge on different aspects of CS, Design, UI, UX, networking, etc... The problem, however, is most people approach the role like its a job at a fast food chain. I think both aspiring web devs and the vast majority of employers are guilty of this perspective.

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#95

Post by kenny87 »

jkingsbery wrote: post #65

Many good points raised already, a few points I haven't seen raised: * Within Web Dev, others have pointed out that there are many technologies you can work with, but there are also very many different kinds of output. Some web developers produce production code. Some web devs focus on producing early prototypes, and have some mix of UX Design and WebDev skills. Still others work for agencies where there is a heavy e…

Apparently, at least according to CNBC [0], UX Design is one of the most in-demand skills in 2019. Not sure about their data sources, but it's definitely a skill a good web dev should consider adding to the toolkit.

[0] https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/04/the-30-most-in-demand-skills...

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#96

Post by snowwrestler »

For entry level web development I would take a look at PR or communications agencies. Many of them build and host custom websites for clients. Depending on the company, it can be a great way to get your first entry on your resume.

The work is not super complicated and it's often based on popular CMS software and/or frameworks, so it's easy to get going. But you'll be getting paid and working on real projects, which are what you need to start building a career.

You'll get to work with other developers and start making professional connections. Agency folks enjoy networking so you'll learn how to do that. And, jumping into a client company can be a viable way to move on to more complex work.

I'm in the DC area and basically every single agency is looking for developers right now. But there should be a similar industry in any medium to big city.

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#97

Post by openbasic »

casper345 wrote: post #91

Right now yes, in the near future, probably not. As automation and better services come out, website development will be one of the first jobs to be replaced by this. Although services like Wordpress, Wix, have their problems, they get better and better every day. In the future, no one will be coding websites/not a viable career option (people may just code on the side website for really niche things) It is a great l…

I've been hearing this argument since CoffeeCup, HighPowerSites and Dreamweaver were still a thing.

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#99

Post by Sammi »

C1sc0cat wrote: post #39
1_player wrote: post #8

As a sibling commenter said, define web developer first. I can see two viable, yet very different definitions: 1. Frontend web engineer: Versed in HTML, CSS, modern Javascript libraries such as React, Vue, Angular. This is a programming role first and foremost, better paying than #2, and what I would suggest focusing on. 2. "Classic web developer": Versed in HTML, CSS and just enough JS/jQuery. Knows the inside out o…

Bit elitist - the trouble with 1 is they can produce pretty one page sites which then suck when crawled by search engines and 90% of websites out there depend on search.

It's realist. One pays better than the other.

Re: Ask HN: Is web development still a viable career choice?

#100

Post by leereeves »

milosdog2 wrote: post #98

People say that web dev (the javascript/react/python/c#/java) fullstack kind is boring and mundane. But what else do people actually do? Sure, there's ML and embedded work but aren't most engineers doing CRUD work anyway?

Is ML even a programming job?

I see it more like data science, 10% programming 90% math.

Edit: 3% programming, 30% math, 67% scrubbing data. Thanks for the correction shortoncash. :)

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