The assumption here is that the Web equates hypertext: hyperlinked static text documents sprinkled with images and a bit of Javascript. Ever since the inceptio

The assumption here is that the Web equates hypertext: hyperlinked static text documents sprinkled with images and a bit of Javascript. Ever since the inception of the Web by TBL, there was a drive to use the Web as a jumping board for "Rich Web Applications". Flash, Java Web Applets, Silverlight,... were all attempts to bring the functionality of native applications to the browser. They filled a space where browsers natively lacked API's. They were also a threat to proprietary OS makers like Microsoft who sought to dominate the desktop space and what you could do with your computer in the late 90's early 00's. It was the arrival of mobile devices around 2010 that upended the status quo. It created massive new billion dollar markets for new players like Google. It also introduced an entirely new technological paradigm which spawned competition between native mobile applications and web based applications. All of that gradually coalesced around browser engines. These have evolved into incredibly complex beasts over the past 15 years with a cornucopia of API's and support for protocols. Just think about WebGL (look at the members of the Chronos consortium! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGL https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGL)! Or how Microsoft decided to adopt Chromium for it's browser (https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/15/21066767/microsoft-edge-chromium-new-browser-windows-mac-download-os https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/15/21066767/microsoft-edge-c...) The end game here is much the same as it was back in the 90's: being able to control the sandbox in which both developers and users are playing. The difference being that you don't need third party plugins or whatever. Front-end engineering is just an expression of this evolution. It's a specialist role who's goal is to build fully-fledged applications and UI's in the browser. And that's totally valid. > highest paid roles in most agencies Early agencies in the early 00's started out as "we build and maintain your website". They were forced to pivot away from that pitch in a few short years. Either they moved towards integrated 360 communication, or they moved towards a specific niche e.g. mobile development, content strategy, UI/UX design, etc. This includes moving from building simple websites towards complex user interfaces to manage all kinds of data, content, and so on fluidly. Sure, it's still possible to start a company that does "traditional" websites through frontend/backend development based on some CMS solution. There's still plenty of outfits who do just that. It's just that this type of engineering never did encompass the entirety of how the Web evolves. I worked in a "traditional" agency around 2010. My former boss asserted back then that he doubted we would be doing the same thing, using the same technology, let alone we would still be around a decade from then. He was absolutely correct.