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The author doesn't understand the actual value of a full-stack developer. A full-stack developer is not a 10x ninja developer in every language/technology in t

The author doesn't understand the actual value of a full-stack developer. A full-stack developer is not a 10x ninja developer in every language/technology in the "stack". A full-stack developer is a developer that has good enough understanding of a stack of technologies (say Django for the backend and Vue for the frontend, maybe Swagger in the middle, and PSQL for the database) to help the team fix integration issues between each layer of the stack.

delinka 8y ago
"Full-stack" is the jack-of-all-trades. Ergo master of none.
- ses1984 8y ago
  Being jack-of-all-trades and master of one aren't mutually exclusive. Becoming senior or lead has nothing to do with how deeply you specialize, and everything to do with having an impact and delivering value.
- c17r 8y ago
  In truth it’s more like jack of all trades, master of one or some. 20 something years ago you didn’t hear the term full stack, you did everything — database to UI — because that’s just what you did. These days as a consultant, I tell people I’m full stack with more emphasis on the back end.
  - james_s_tayler 8y ago
    I like to say "some parts of the stack are fuller than others"
- jypepin 8y ago
  You don't always need masters. A full stack engineer will build your a rails app that might work perfectly for the whole life of your business. Only when your business scales (a lot) that you need people that are more and more specialised. And trust me, the first backend engineer you hire to optimise the backend build by your full stack engineer will probably not be the backend engineer that will be able to scale and shard your database once you reach more and more scale. Nothing is black and white.
- n4r9 8y ago
  Interesting point, the complete saying was originally "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."
- jbverschoor 8y ago
  The master of creating a product. i.e. the most valuable thing in an early stage startup in terms of tech.
- mothsonasloth 8y ago
  That is only half the quote though, the full quote is A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jack_of_all_trades,_master_of_none https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jack_of_all_trades,_master_of...
  - zzzcpan 8y ago
    Makes sense. And no one can really be an expert in something without having a broad jack of all trades perspective on everything else.
petercooper 8y ago
That sort of generalist, big picture thinking also puts good full-stack developers in a position to enter management or more systems analysis roles later in their career. The "senior" level full-stack developer of the future may indeed commonly be a CTO in waiting.
- robinduckett 8y ago
  Yep, this is exactly how I feel. Sometimes people often fail to perceive the big picture, as well as being so uncomfortable to leave their silos that they won't even venture into the backend / frontend code to debug an issue that has implications through the whole stack.
zzzcpan 8y ago
> say Django for the backend and Vue for the frontend, maybe Swagger in the middle, and PSQL for the database But this is a typical non-junior web developer, not a full stack developer.

delinka 8y ago

"Full-stack" is the jack-of-all-trades. Ergo master of none.

ses1984 8y ago
Being jack-of-all-trades and master of one aren't mutually exclusive. Becoming senior or lead has nothing to do with how deeply you specialize, and everything to do with having an impact and delivering value.
c17r 8y ago
In truth it’s more like jack of all trades, master of one or some. 20 something years ago you didn’t hear the term full stack, you did everything — database to UI — because that’s just what you did. These days as a consultant, I tell people I’m full stack with more emphasis on the back end.
- james_s_tayler 8y ago
  I like to say "some parts of the stack are fuller than others"
jypepin 8y ago
You don't always need masters. A full stack engineer will build your a rails app that might work perfectly for the whole life of your business. Only when your business scales (a lot) that you need people that are more and more specialised. And trust me, the first backend engineer you hire to optimise the backend build by your full stack engineer will probably not be the backend engineer that will be able to scale and shard your database once you reach more and more scale. Nothing is black and white.
n4r9 8y ago
Interesting point, the complete saying was originally "A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one."
jbverschoor 8y ago
The master of creating a product. i.e. the most valuable thing in an early stage startup in terms of tech.
mothsonasloth 8y ago
That is only half the quote though, the full quote is A jack of all trades is a master of none, but oftentimes better than a master of one. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jack_of_all_trades,_master_of_none https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jack_of_all_trades,_master_of...
- zzzcpan 8y ago
  Makes sense. And no one can really be an expert in something without having a broad jack of all trades perspective on everything else.

petercooper 8y ago

That sort of generalist, big picture thinking also puts good full-stack developers in a position to enter management or more systems analysis roles later in their career. The "senior" level full-stack developer of the future may indeed commonly be a CTO in waiting.

robinduckett 8y ago
Yep, this is exactly how I feel. Sometimes people often fail to perceive the big picture, as well as being so uncomfortable to leave their silos that they won't even venture into the backend / frontend code to debug an issue that has implications through the whole stack.

zzzcpan 8y ago

> say Django for the backend and Vue for the frontend, maybe Swagger in the middle, and PSQL for the database But this is a typical non-junior web developer, not a full stack developer.