Frontend vs. Backend - Which Is Better?

In this video, I compare the front end and the back end and answer the question: which is better, being a frontend or a backend developer? This is the difference between frontend and backend development.

[Grr]

The last time that our UX told our frontend guy "this frame needs to be two pixels higher" I realized that I did the right thing for me choosing backend 30 years ago :-) Nobody ever told me that my Java/Python paragraph needs to go up two pixels :-)

[tim_t]

Full-stack is swimming + weightlifting. 😂

[XueyongQian]

People usually ask me to change color/pixel stuff when I work on UI, and I feel belittled; Then the questions related to API are more exciting and I learn a lot. So my answer is whichever let you learn something.

[ifeoluwaAlao]

Hi Clem, I'm sending you a lot of love from Nigeria

[tannerbarcelos]

Full stack is definitely the goal...My buddy just graduated and was primarily a front end guy.. yet got hired in Washington DC right out of school 6 figures as Full Stack Engineer. Super inspirational. I would say I am liking front end, but of course in cs degrees, we deal a lot with backend-ish style courses (java, C++, python etc.) so learning front end is definitely a new world. I will say, CSS is a headache to me and i continue to learn it, but it continues to upset me when i cannot style things good..but it takes time. As for backend, I loved doing backend stuff in my web dev elective as well. So, that mix really shows that full stack is the dream route.. for myself and many

[florianwebdev]

It depends from person to person, they look similar but they're actually quite different. Even though frontend is more gratifying, I found it to be the reason for most of my burnouts, the deadlines get ridiculous when coding UIs (or emails). The backend side does wrap itself around more things (the language you're using + a database + html) but it feels like you're actually coding and not wasting your time with beginner level stuff. If you're managing the features of the projects right, you can be really fast doing backend work and you also get some time to take a breath, there's no time to take a breath when doing frontend projects.

Regarding his gestures: I'm sure he drank too much coffee before filming this video.

[jazilzaim]

The difference is that the front end always changes. You got to deal with UI, components, and so many different frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular that always change every few months or so. While on the backend, things are more straightforward and consistent. They won't change every few months. So I would say that front end is a bit more difficult than backend.

[MuhammadAfzal-dvid]

Clement your communication skill and confidence are simply love 😍

[mkkkai]

I agree with everything said here except one thing. The trend is going away from full stack engineers, not vice versa. there's too much going on these days on the front end to be strong in both. sure, a fe engineer might be able to add an extra parameter on an API call, and a be engineer might be able to create a text box with validation, style it, create the API request to get it into the database - but that's not full stack development anymore. if you are just starting your career and want to be a full stack engineer, be careful - you could end up being a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none. this means in any given project you probably could only handle trivial tasks on either side. not to mention these days how complex the tech stacks are - there's a ton of overhead to manage both as a full stack. it could kill your productivity to try to work on both sides for the most simple tasks. it's very rare to find a full stack engineer that is as strong as your developers on both sides.

[stacey]

Personally think we should start from front end because being able to see what you’ve build is pretty rewarding and it’ll help you persist through

[SR-jgbp]

I would love to become a back end engineer . Just got started with algo expert . Hopefully i improve my knowledge and become a developer

[mskyba]

10:09 I was genuinely scared for a second

[_sudipidus_]

Take away is:

think about what is it that is going to consume 80% of your time and see if that's what you would like.

As a backend engineer 80% of my time is DB-CRUD operation

[MrPDTaylor]

I wish there was a website where I could learn all of the algorithms I need to know to get a job with a fang company :(

[kiranendravivekkolli]

I agree with your statement that the choice depends on one's own interest. Both front-end and back-end in any development scenario, are quite challenging.
But, if you're a crazy person who loves programming ❤ (and really wanted to know what is your interesred and productive area - front-end or back-end) then once try to develop a small-scale project being a full stack. Based on the outcome of your project, you can analyse where your interest and strength lies.
Love you bro ❤ - From India
Stay safe all 🙂

[justincook]

I LOVE that you made the menial tasks a deciding factor! I used to want to pursue backend engineering, because I really enjoy the CS theory of OOP and Algorithms, but after implementing the 3rd REST API of the day, I realized it might not be for me.

[samsung]

I really enjoy both front-end and back-end but this video really helped me realize what I vibe the most with. Although I've loved doing UI on my personal projects, the downsides of front-end sound very frustrating to me as opposed to back-end. Thanks for the help!

[VickyMei]

im not a beginner but this is SO INSIGHTFUL for someone to figure it out which one is better for them! Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and def will help a ton of confusing soul out there!

[mirceastan]

In my opinion, the best would be to do both, but obviously specialize in just one, depending on what one prefers.
Adding a few DevOps related skills is also highly beneficial - nothing spectacular, just to be able to manage a Linux system, read/write some basic Bash and configure a kubernetes cluster should suffice.

[Xyvier]

I design stuff, but I prefer working on the back end.
I am very much into design, and have designed magazines, posters even created videos. But I have always leaving out putting effort on the front end.
I love the satisfaction I get from putting out well created contents but due to the immense skills required to engineer the front-end, and me, being a total perfectionist, I put the front end at the back of my mind..
Hope im not the only one.