Moving from Backend to Frontend Development

Yeap, I’m referring to being a frontend developer. I’ve spent many years of my tech career working a generalist developer. Long before we even call it full-stack, or differentiate between backend and frontend. Things have definitely become more clearly separate today than it was 17 years ago when I first entered the work industry.

But as I reflected on the years of experiences and exposure that I have been given, it is clear to me that I’ve always been moving closer and closer to the frontend side of things – thanks to my passion and interests in UX/UI (at a time when we didn’t recognize the term “User Experience”. Moving closer to frontend development was my way of getting as close as possible to doing anything remotely close to UX during that period of time.

But there’s no doubt in me. From what I can see (at least when I am reflecting upon my strongest skillsets), I am definitely more of a frontend developer than a backend developer. If I were to be given a choice, I will choose to focus on frontend development. But ofcourse, if the world is perfect, I would love to work in a UX role and capacity. Because that is where I will really get to shine. Truly shine.

But let’s not kid ourselves, the world isn’t perfect man. Unless ofcourse, there is some kind of miracle that allows me to land a job working in UX, that would be perfect (I almost had that opportunity back in 2019 but I turned it down due to my career transition plan at that time). So I think, it’s not impossible, it’s just…well, possible, but not a guarantee at this point.

What has a higher probability of becoming a reality, is that I might become a Senior Frontend Developer, or perhaps even a Lead Frontend Developer.

Okay, I should also point out that my most ideal roles (based on my “Video Resume”) include the following (ranked by greatest confidence):

1. Senior/Lead UX Designer
2. Pre-sales Engineer / Evangelist / Developer Advocate
3. Senior/Lead Frontend Development

As mentioned, the first one on the list is more “ideal” and “perfect”. But options 2 and 3 aren’t bad. They are also areas where I know I have a much higher chance of achieving success in a professional capacity.

I’ve already sent out as many applications as I can when it comes to Pre-sales related roles. There’s nothing else I can do other than wait to see what comes of it. I will still check the job sites on a regular basis to try and identify new opportunities in that area. But yeah, I’ve basically been blasting my job applications.

I know my odds of success in this area is quite positively high.

Strengthening my Frontend Development Skills

Something else that I’ve started doing this week, is that I decided to focus on learning more about the most in-demand JS frameworks which include:

• ReactJS
• VueJS
• AngularJS

I actually already have some experience with AngularJS. So I’m putting it last on the list. When I was looking through all the job openings, it looks like most folks are trying to hire ReactJS frontend developers. Sure, they usually hope the developers would know other JS frameworks (which I am more than adequately qualified). But here I am, focusing on one simple thing – I want to strengthen and deepen my skills and knowledge in all the different key languages and frameworks that falls within the scope of being a frontend developer.

I guess there’s that benefit of being a generalist to begin with. It’s actually must easier for me to learn and pick up things that are either new to me, or if I need to move from just “beginner” level knowledge to “intermediate”.

What will make the learning process even more effective is when I get the chance to land a job that would allow me to apply those skills in a practical way. Again, I really learn better and remember what I’ve learned when I get to apply that which I’m learning. Get it?

Okay, time for me to continue learning more about ReactJS (there are already a few hirers that reached out to me yesterday, and one key word they have mentioned so far is “ReactJS”). So over this weekend, I’m going to focus on deepening my knowledge and skills in that area.

I’ll eventually move over toe Vue.JS once I feel that I have a pretty good grasps of ReactJS.

Now, assuming that I do end up in a Senior Frontend Developer role in the coming days/weeks, I am genuinely confident that given a year or two from now, I can become pretty good at all 3 of the most in-demand JS frameworks (plus perhaps a few of the other supplementary JS frameworks).