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People misidentify one of the biggest challenges of building a SPA in a startup, small, or medium, sized org: taming the horde of junior developers coming into

People misidentify one of the biggest challenges of building a SPA in a startup, small, or medium, sized org: taming the horde of junior developers coming into front end development via self-teaching, bootcamps, and CS programs, who more often then not are writing significant parts of the product to be shipped. There is a huge need for them to have abstractions which provide structure and consistency without being hidden behind too much magic. React in general, redux, and hooks, to me all work to fill this need in a way which is superior to alternative tools. Specifically you can learn how they work in ten minutes or less. Of course ecosystem variety is critical and there are no doubt many cases where mobx, non-hooks, or similar implementations are the better solution.

BigJono 7y ago
I think you're totally right, but just want to point out. I'd never, ever rely on junior devs in a startup, for this exact reason. I can't think of a better way to totally ruin yourself than risk that. Build it yourself until you get funded and can afford the $200k or whatever the market rate is for experts. Startups succeed for the exact reason that they avoid the "average" team structure that bigger companies employ. You need a small team of experts, not a standard team of juniors with a few seniors. Beating the averages and all that.
- erikpukinskis 7y ago
  It does seem crazy to me too! At best the jr developer is what, half price? 1/3? A good sensible developer, left alone, for sure will get 10x or 100x the work done in 5 years. But also.... The senior developer has Seen Some Shit, and is psychologically damaged. They will resist doing things a stupid way that’s still “good enough”. The Jr. developer will happily follow orders. That’s worth something too. Maybe the 10x comes back there. Probably diversity is worth the most. And just cut out bad blood, without prejudice, when it appears.

BigJono 7y ago

I think you're totally right, but just want to point out. I'd never, ever rely on junior devs in a startup, for this exact reason. I can't think of a better way to totally ruin yourself than risk that. Build it yourself until you get funded and can afford the $200k or whatever the market rate is for experts. Startups succeed for the exact reason that they avoid the "average" team structure that bigger companies employ. You need a small team of experts, not a standard team of juniors with a few seniors. Beating the averages and all that.

erikpukinskis 7y ago
It does seem crazy to me too! At best the jr developer is what, half price? 1/3? A good sensible developer, left alone, for sure will get 10x or 100x the work done in 5 years. But also.... The senior developer has Seen Some Shit, and is psychologically damaged. They will resist doing things a stupid way that’s still “good enough”. The Jr. developer will happily follow orders. That’s worth something too. Maybe the 10x comes back there. Probably diversity is worth the most. And just cut out bad blood, without prejudice, when it appears.