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Sorry, but I'll point out a bit of elitism in this post. > (Unless if the job description is for front-end development only, in which I'm less qualified to sa

Sorry, but I'll point out a bit of elitism in this post. > (Unless if the job description is for front-end development only, in which I'm less qualified to say whether a CS education is needed or not.) The browser is an extremely complex platform, at least rivaling an operating system. If you're going to argue that advanced knowledge of a platform is required for non-frontend work, you should be comfortable making the argument for frontend. Except people generally don't make that argument. Frontend devs (I am not one) are looked down on. But it's a double standard. I'm sure that wasn't your intention, but it's a constant expression I see - that web developers are a class separate from the rest of us. The truth is that OS knowledge is not critical and the general sentiment that frontend devs can do their job without understand the complexities of a browser only reveals this. More to your point, I taught myself about OS's and x86 outside of class because I wanted to learn how to exploit memory safety issues. I never made a career out of it, but I learned a lot, and it was a matter of buying a few books and talking to people on IRC. I found tons of excellent talks by Herb Sutter and Scott Meyer about CPU architecture and how code maps to it. There's a ton of resources out there for those who choose to self-teach.

chrisco255 8y ago
This is true only because there's a huge range of people who consider themselves front end devs. The barriers to entry are next to zero, but it's a very difficult thing to master.
andreareina 8y ago
>> (Unless if the job description is for front-end development only, in which I'm less qualified to say whether a CS education is needed or not.) > The browser is an extremely complex platform, at least rivaling an operating system. If you're going to argue that advanced knowledge of a platform is required for non-frontend work, you should be comfortable making the argument for frontend. I didn't read the quoted statement as a position against front-end devs needing CS knowledge, but rather a lack of position in the matter due to the author's ignorance. FWIW as someone working in both the front- and back-end, the front-end stuff can definitely have the same amount of complexity.
- staticassertion 8y ago
  I also did not read it that way. I read it as an off-hand remark that unwittingly implied that frontend devs were 'others' with different requirements.
kevintb 8y ago
The commenter below (andreareina) is correct, I said I'm less qualified to say whether a CS education is needed or not for FE development because I’ve never done it myself, so I can’t authoritatively make such a statement. It was the opposite of an elitist attack.
- staticassertion 8y ago
  I didn't intend to characterize it as an attack. I read it as an assumption, or an unwitting implication, which I don't blame you for because the issue (of treating frontend devs as lesser) is systemic. No attacking on either side.

chrisco255 8y ago

This is true only because there's a huge range of people who consider themselves front end devs. The barriers to entry are next to zero, but it's a very difficult thing to master.

andreareina 8y ago

>> (Unless if the job description is for front-end development only, in which I'm less qualified to say whether a CS education is needed or not.) > The browser is an extremely complex platform, at least rivaling an operating system. If you're going to argue that advanced knowledge of a platform is required for non-frontend work, you should be comfortable making the argument for frontend. I didn't read the quoted statement as a position against front-end devs needing CS knowledge, but rather a lack of position in the matter due to the author's ignorance. FWIW as someone working in both the front- and back-end, the front-end stuff can definitely have the same amount of complexity.

staticassertion 8y ago
I also did not read it that way. I read it as an off-hand remark that unwittingly implied that frontend devs were 'others' with different requirements.

kevintb 8y ago

The commenter below (andreareina) is correct, I said I'm less qualified to say whether a CS education is needed or not for FE development because I’ve never done it myself, so I can’t authoritatively make such a statement. It was the opposite of an elitist attack.

staticassertion 8y ago
I didn't intend to characterize it as an attack. I read it as an assumption, or an unwitting implication, which I don't blame you for because the issue (of treating frontend devs as lesser) is systemic. No attacking on either side.