Full-stack development became a dangerous trend for beginners.
Many try to become a full-stack developer (FSD) directly. You might think about making more money as a full-stack developer. If you feel likewise, that's a bad idea. This means you end up trying to learn full-stack development as your first step into the market.
Let me clarify that it doesn't work like that. Nobody hires junior full-stack developers. 🙅♂️
Why Nobody Will Hire a Junior FSD
It is risky for companies to trust someone on a beginner level.
The communication & interface design between the front-end and back-end is the key to success. No company will hire you on a FSD entry-level. It is risky for them to trust someone, that is beginner level, to work with something such important as APIs and databases. You simply won't have the desired experience to know how things will work out in the long run.
You will be occupied learning so many different concepts you probably won't ever have had time to dive into software architecture and structural patterns.
The front-end is the way to go every time for entry-level.
Too Many Concepts For One Beginner Brain
All areas do follow their own set of rules.
The front-end is built in a completely different way than a back-end. User focus on the one side, access speed, and threading on the other side. Databases have their own query language — you have to learn on top. DevOps is another story but is also required to become a full-stack developer. You can already guess the tensioning question:
How do I want to know every aspect of them and perform well?
The answer is clear: You won't. And I will give you an example of why. I currently code in TypeScript with Angular and recently wrote about C# (my first learned language). It took me way more time to finish the examples as it should. I had to google syntax and errors. This switch from one language to another is pretty annoying in my head, even after many years of development.
No chance a beginner can switch terms such as easy while still learning the different areas of a full-stack developer.
Frontend != Frontend, Backend != Backend
There are plenty of jobs with many different requirements.
All of them require different frameworks: Angular, React, and Vue.
They all require different back-end languages: C#, JavaScript, Java.
Some companies want you to know all of them.
Think again, learning back-end and multiple front-end frameworks simultaneously? Nah, you aren't going to make it, sorry. After seven years of development, even I had to go my path to become a full-stack developer. Furthermore, I only deep-dived into Angular over the years, which is far more than sufficient. I want to learn React once I have free time from my current contract to look further down the road.
However, adding one framework or language to your skillset becomes complicated if you barely know another.
Your focus should be more on the front-end side. I recommend focusing just on one framework, and I would choose React because it is still the most popular framework and the easiest one.
Bootcamps And Courses
Bootcamps and courses out there are teaching you full-stack development.
Sounds cool on paper, but you won't get a job for that. Only small companies with a limited budget hire full-stack developers. Front-end and back-end are different areas that intersect with each other just a little bit. It can take you forever to learn the required skills for both. Especially if you are a beginner and looking to get your first job as a developer, I recommend starting with the front-end.
Land a job get some real-world experience under your belt. Once this step is done, you can transition to the back-end if you want.
A Safe Bet To Land A Decent Junior Entry Position
HTML/CSS, JavaScript is always a good bet.
Learning all languages or frameworks is unnecessary and will consume a lot of time and add to the confusion. Learn the basics of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and you are already job-ready.
To gain even more chances in the market, learn React.
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