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Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

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Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#91
post #46

I'm currently teaching my brother web development and I guarantee if I were to show him this, he'd just quit. This is way too much information. All a beginner needs to know is JS and the basics of HTML/CSS/SQL. If they have a mentor, the mentor should draw out and explain how frontend, backend and databases relate, and the general lifecycle of a request to a webpage. That's all you really need to start building stuff…

I would also add a few unix commands. Just enough to get a server running to deploy a website. Since the early 2000s, I'd been working with HTML/CSS, with a touch of JS and making visually rich, pixel perfect websites. Then a few years later, I taught myself Python and came to understand how programming works and my skills transferred over to JS as well. It wasn't until many years after that I finally learned some un…

Agreed. I should say installing Ubuntu way back in 2007 really helped me discover a whole world of CLIs that I never knew to exist in my Windows / Notepad++ comfort zone back then

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#92
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I also deeply resent the notion that you have to "choose a path." Yup. Been doing this since 1999. The whole "front end"/"back end" thing is an incredibly unrealistic and unnecessary division. Real life work is much more complicated and nuanced than that. I don't know of anyone, maybe outside of (as you said) huge companies, who works that way, having "picked a path" and entirely focusing on one side of the stack.…

Given the trajectory of front-end frameworks like React, I'm pretty sure front-end and back-end are going to be two very separate tracks about 5 years from now. Front end is just getting too complicated to be a complete expert in while also being an expert in writing microservices too.

Yes, the axiom fits pretty nicely here: "Jack of all trades, master of none." It's extremely rare to find someone who is a master of all, can keep on top of current tech (in all domains), etc. Web development is becoming like the medical profession, where every single subfield is specialized. Yes, there are people who can do that, but they are far and few between. Most back end devs are typically not visually creative types like are typically needed for the front end, and vice versa. How many good back end devs are also good graphic artists and at layout (beyond adding a background image to bootstrap)? How many front end devs are good with SQL?

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, it shouldn't be necessary, but their first sentence... >I was convinced for a while there as I scrolled down that this was a joke. "Good parody!" I thought to myself. Then I realized to my horror this is actually serious. ...is pompous and holier than thou. Being unable to see the value in this infographic doesn't mean it's trash, and I think it's unnecessary to comment with such an arrogant attitude li…

>pompous and holier than thou That's not a good faith interpretation.

Why on earth would I assume, given that comment, that he is posting in good faith? I'm not going to assume good faith when someone has made it clear they're only here to look down on shared information.

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#94

Seems quite comprehensive, perhaps more than any web developer needs to know, but a good resource nonetheless. For FE, I'm glad DOM manipulation is in there somewhere. These days with modern frameworks becoming a big thing an all, I feel DOM manipulation as a skill is falling by the wayside.

Agreed about DOM manipulation. I feel like they should emphasize that a bit more in this roadmap. Also, apparently you only need to learn about HTTP/S is you are doing DevOps...

I still recommend http://domenlightenment.com/ to ppl to get a nice base line of what you can do with the browser (a 2013 book but the browser APIs don't change much, they mostly keep adding stuff).

https://hpbn.co/ is a good resource for the networking side of things, if maybe a bit advanced, not sure what would be a more gentle resource to start with.

With regard to CSS, I don't really have any good book recommendation, maybe someone can chime in.

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, it shouldn't be necessary, but their first sentence... >I was convinced for a while there as I scrolled down that this was a joke. "Good parody!" I thought to myself. Then I realized to my horror this is actually serious. ...is pompous and holier than thou. Being unable to see the value in this infographic doesn't mean it's trash, and I think it's unnecessary to comment with such an arrogant attitude li…

> especially when it's obvious they're just either not the intended audience or they're misinterpreting the goal of the graphic. But is it obvious? I'm sure others resonate with that. You have to consider the possibility that his criticism is entirely valid and that a non-zero number of people find this roadmap way more convoluted than it ought to be.

>As a web developer since 1997, currently working in both the Rails & JAMstack spaces, I can assure any and all beginners out there you don't need to know anything about at least 50% of this stuff, probably closer to 70%.

This criticism is entirely invalid, given that, as a beginner, I DID have to learn at least 50% (or more) of these topics. Why do I have to consider the possibility that his criticism is valid if he comes out the gate with a condescending remark and then states something that is blatantly not true (from my perspective) and not even verifiable on his/her part? Give me a break.

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#96
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I also deeply resent the notion that you have to "choose a path." Yup. Been doing this since 1999. The whole "front end"/"back end" thing is an incredibly unrealistic and unnecessary division. Real life work is much more complicated and nuanced than that. I don't know of anyone, maybe outside of (as you said) huge companies, who works that way, having "picked a path" and entirely focusing on one side of the stack.…

Given the trajectory of front-end frameworks like React, I'm pretty sure front-end and back-end are going to be two very separate tracks about 5 years from now. Front end is just getting too complicated to be a complete expert in while also being an expert in writing microservices too.

If you want an example, search a job listing aggregator for the job titles. I just ran the numbers for my area, and 41% of total software development related job posts are exclusively looking for backend, frontend or mobile engineers.

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#97
post #31

I'm currently teaching my brother web development and I guarantee if I were to show him this, he'd just quit. This is way too much information. All a beginner needs to know is JS and the basics of HTML/CSS/SQL. If they have a mentor, the mentor should draw out and explain how frontend, backend and databases relate, and the general lifecycle of a request to a webpage. That's all you really need to start building stuff…

Ya, I've got a CS degree and I'm slowly learning web dev. Learning JS is really nice, but I feel like I need to know so many frameworks and other things, not to mention algorithms, to land an actually decent job. Idk how accurate this is but most requirements on job sites seem fairly thorough.

Literally just ignore most requirements on job sites and apply anyways.

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#99

These roadmaps are always hilarious to me. The real roadmap to becoming a web developer is "write code and convince someone to pay you." I suppose you could even leave the paying part off, if you are contributing to open source or writing code for yourself. Of course, you should do a great job, dedicate regular time to learning, and explore things that interest you. These maxims are probably true for success in many…

[deleted]

Re: Roadmap to becoming a web developer in 2019

#100
What's the best path from a career perspective?

I spent 3 years in front end, largely because I didn't have a CS degree and didn't want to study for those "invert a binary tree" style Google interview questions (I don't have a problem with theory, I just prefer working on real-world problems than studying for interviews).

I was making a good six-figure salary before taking a sabbatical, but may be re-entering the workforce in the not too distant future. I need to decide whether to pursue front-end/full-stack jobs again, or to specialize in something else.

Although front-end would seem to be the most logical since it was my specialty (specifically React), I'm afraid that the influx of bootcamp grads pumping out React devs will saturate the front end talent pool and make jobs more competitive and limit salaries. That and front end still seems to have this stigma of being "easier" than backend, and I don't see that changing. I don't want to invest my career in a field that doesn't garner any respect or have any long-term job security.

Is there any truth to this, or am I being overly pessimistic?

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