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For now, just learn the basics (simple html, simple DOM manipulation, simple jQuery, simple CSS, simple Javascript). Those fancy frameworks are all going to be
by fsk 11y ago
For now, just learn the basics (simple html, simple DOM manipulation, simple jQuery, simple CSS, simple Javascript).
Those fancy frameworks are all going to be obsolete in 2 years anyway (i.e. angular 1.0). Besides, you need to know the basics in order to use the fancy frameworks CORRECTLY.
Unfortunately, most employers want you to be an expert already in whatever tools they are using. I know people will object and say they hire for talent and not resume keywords, but that hasn't been my experience as a candidate.
The reason employers want full-stack instead of back-end is that it cuts down on the communication overhead. You can do it all yourself, rather than handing off the front-end bit to other people. I'd rather hand off tricky front-end work to someone who knows it better.
My experience is mostly back-end, but recently I've been doing some simple front-end work. It makes more sense to have separate back-end and front-end specialists, but that isn't the way things are done anymore.
I wrote a video poker practice game in Javascript/jQuery/PHP/C++. It works, and my father is playing it, and he likes it. It isn't fancy modern web style, but it runs and gets the job done. (Javascript/jQuery on the client, with simple CSS. PHP with a shell_exec to C++ to do the calculation of the optimal strategy. The client does an AJAX call to get the next hand.)
Try writing something like minesweeper or a sudoku game in Javascript/CSS for practice.
- aliencat 11y agoI agree. The problem for me is that writing the same front-end stuff that takes an expert an hour can take me half a day googling and debugging. And it's not fun at all for me. And frameworks do expire quickly. Therefore it's hard to be determined to devote time to learn any of them seriously. And plain old DOM manipulation and CSS clearly cannot beat the development speed of modern frameworks.
- fsk 11y agoThat's my issue with studying new things to further my career. There are SO MANY things. What should I pick? Also, most HR and headhunters say "Only on-the-job experience counts. If you learned it on your own, we don't value it." After a few weeks, you'd get better at it. Unfortunately, employers want someone who's already an expert. They aren't comfortable letting someone learn on the job, even if searching for their purple squirrel means the position is open for longer. I got something done in a couple of hours with the "old-fashined" style, when it probably would have taken me weeks to learn a framework for a simple task. For a personal project, the plain style is fine. Most of these MVC frameworks are poorly documented and poorly written. I've used several that I didn't like. I wouldn't use an MVC framework for my own projects. To find a job, they expect you to already be an expert in whatever they are using. The only way to expand your skillset seems to be: Pick something you want to learn, and use it for a project at work, even if it isn't the right choice for your current employer's needs.