4 Reasons NOT to become a Full Stack Developer

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Isn't full stack development better than frontend or backend? Nope. Not if you're a beginner trying to learn to code and get your first software developer job. It may seem backwards since many job listings ask for fullstack experience and lots of coding bootcamps teach fullstack courses. But there's a huge downside to this. In fact, trying to learn full stack development could actually hurt your ability to get hired as a new programmer and here's why...

Let’s have a candid chat about becoming a full-stack developer, because it’s something I get asked about all the time, which suggests a lot of folks don’t really know what it means and what’s involved. It doesn’t help that a lot of job openings ask for full stack experience and a lot of coding bootcamps are selling full-stack programs.

Is that what you’re also coming across in software developer job postings?

Let’s start with clearing up the misunderstandings around front-end, back-end and full-stack development and then get into why you shouldn’t try to become a full-stack developer as someone who is trying to get into the industry.

So what exactly is front-end development?
What is back-end development?
Or should you become a full stack developer? Let's chat.

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[ericmyers]

Full-stack awareness... yes. Full stack expertise... NO. Don't be a "jack of all trades, master of none." Learn about every tier but specialize in what you enjoy building.

[JasonLatouche]

I do enjoyed my first full stack position. Yes, the projects wasn't that big, yes I did everything from CSS to databases and server management, and yes I was underpaid based on the amount of responsibility and value I was providing. But it was a great experience and now I have a better understanding in which areas I would like to focus.

[GramKracker]

Coming from enterprise software engineering - I can tell you even our group, despite “looking for full stack” have a desire for either a strong java(backend) or strong front end candidate at any one point in time. The key is to be able to focus in an area and have the chops to handle other areas like devops, QA etc.. Interesting topic tho, a bit of a clickbait title, but hey got me to click I guess ;) A little trick, advertise yourself as “full stack” even if your mainly focused in one area, you’ll get more interviews and will likely find a good fit for your interests/skill sets eventually - that’s what 90+% of our Indian candidates do…

[emmaklein]

My favorite notion in this whole video (that I hope resonates with all the new devs on here)-- experienced devs learn from years worth of making mistakes and having to fix them. It's so easy to fall into the mental trap of "they're just so much smarter than I am, that's why I'm not able to foresee these crazy architecture problems before it's too late."

Great content! Loved the concise explanations of front end, back end, and dev ops. And I love to see someone advocating against going full stack initially.

[johnforde]

I totally agree. A company should employ architects to design the architecture and then get specialist teams for front-end web, front-end mobile, data, cloud infrastructure, security, etc. If a company wants a full stack dev, they are probably going cheap and your life will be hell to support this stuff. As you mention, many mistakes could be made that compromise the system and leave it open to hackers.

[Tech_Publica]

Some good thoughts here but... I think that the best course of action for an aspiring dev is first get a little bit of full stack practice and experience, just to know how it is, and also to take the "magic" away, because you always have to know what is going on in your application, even if you are not the one directly responsible for it. Then once you have an idea of how the front end and back end work is, you can make a well informed decision about where you prefer to specialise, and once you are really strong in an area then you are in the best position to decide whether you prefer to become a very specialised master or you prefer to work in a larger field.

[VickelLeung]

Totally agree, I remember when I graduated at university. I decided to focus primarily on full stack thinking it will be more valuable and make more money in the long run. Boy was I wrong, I was hired by a small company that wanted me to do everything. While I knew some friends that focused on either front or back end and they made the same or more than my salary. Now I focus primarily on UI/UX and front-end developer instead of being a jack of all trades.

[mjdbaga]

I definitely agree with this. I'm on my 8th year of full stack development and I'm now just shifting to just doing front-end development. I wanna restart my career, sort of. I think what's very important also is the company you work for and what experience you will be gaining from them. My experience is being exhausted all the time and being worked to the bone, but doing almost the same things every project, and always having tight deadlines, and having corporate admin stuff you have to comply with. Now, I'm just playing catch-up with all the front-end technologies that are out there. Ah, if I could just start over...

[future_teknokrat]

This is probably why there's a small faction who tells new and potential devs to just do data analysis to start and then move to development later. The data is what's most important and a company is slow to hire a full fledged developer without experience

[stimepyc]

I concur. Having done both front end and backend they really can be different worlds... And often a specialized person is more important then the "I know everything" person. Full stack is fine, and you will probably do it all at some point, but just know it's takes time and effort to understand all the fun "nuances" of each area.

[OfficiallAiHistory]

For me I think it's better to learn Front end and the MERN stack
But to specialize more on the Front end

[TheJacklwilliams]

Got my sub. I've been in this business for too many years and the things you see/hear are phenomenal. I'm workin web dev as a focus/tech change and currently on front end, CSS, getting ready to start into javascript. I did some app/web dev back in the late 90's / early 2000's and wow, that was interesting. Anyhow, great presentation. I intend to work through the stack as I progress, for two reasons. The first, figuring out where I intend to land/specialize. Second, ultimately my goal is to run my own gig, choose and build my own stack, and create customer solutions from that stack. However, at the end of the day, I intend to have a team of five people and each will specialize in a piece of that stack and will be relied upon to provide the level of service / knowledge that such a specialist brings to the table. Lastly, my specialization, will be uncovered as I proceed. I'm thoroughly enjoying the front-end and all the amazing tools to create in that space but I also have a small history with the back-end and enjoy that as well so, we'll see.

I despise mis-leading material. Learn X in 21 days, blahblahblah. If this field were that simple the pay would be 10 bucks an hour. Not what it is. Job req - Looking for a junior full stack developer. Really? That exists? Isn't that an oxymoron?

Great presentation. Thank you.

[Ebenenstil]

nice summary. Very helpful. The main reason companies look for FullStack is probably often the desire to save money. Hire one person and thus cover 2-3 jobs. It's everywhere, but in the programming world it has felt extremely increased. In times when data and its security is one of the most important tasks in a company, people save money and prefer to look for a person who is either overwhelmed with the task or who is grossly underpaid because they do everything.

[ZuvielDrama]

*I am a fullstack dev*, artist, musician, producer! And i love it! yes, u r never specialized in a field. There are always details that u don't know. So i use learning cards all the time! In the latest project i was not able to design a complex algorithm in linear time. It was slow as hell. A new cto joined the team and solved it. I was like what i am missing? So i get deeper in algo and data and bought a course on udemy from two google enginneers, i am still in and what should i say - i did not know anything about memoization and tableuization. This is what i love most as fullstack dev, there is tones of stuff to learn!

[CharlieAligaen]

This is one of several videos I've watched so far recommending front-end first before expanding to full-stack. Great advice. Thanks!

[natel]

I'm essentially doing full stack work. Not only are you doing front and back end coding, but you're managing the full stack, including Apache configuration... it's doable, but I do feel that your expertise gets stretched. Hard to get great at any single thing when you're doing something different every day.

[Greatscott]

This video gives me PTSD flashbacks from my attempts at full stack development. I lasted two months and haven’t been in development ever since. There were so many things to know, and not enough problem solving skills to keep up with the team, especially during sprints. While I was trying to learn a new framework, the project stalled and there was no hope. They always say that all developers experience problems and failures, but what they don’t tell you is that those same people are also extremely smart. Average joes fail at a much higher rate than high level problem solvers. I wish I could get back the years I spent trying to get into this field.

[davidademola]

I think it's a good idea to learn both front end and back end, but specialise in one.

[ArmandoRodriguez-rsgx]

FullStack means “I know a little bit of everything” and you never really master the stack

[pm]

I'm a backend guy ... and I agree... I can't really imagine how one should be able to keep up with everything in the _full_ stack.
I like poking into HTML/CSS/DOM/Javascript ... but I simply haven't got the time to achieve the same level of expertise as I have with backend stuff.