I am a backend girl because I love optimizing code performance and dealing with data. How about you? What draws you to a particular section of the stack?
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Top comments (44)
I'm a frontend person because I like to see my work - former artist/graphic designer here, so I'm definitely a visual person and frontend appeals to that.
But I like backend sometimes too, because it's cool to be actually working on the things that make the frontend run well.
So ... full stack?
I think I prefer backend so I don’t see my work 😅
Ex creative-coder turned into passionate backender. I've followed a strange path from flash to interactive installations to web frontend to backend / ops. When I started programming I didn't understand how someone could be coding without the output being visual. And now I'm at my happiest when I don't need to even open a browser.
YES! I have never been a very visual person. Some people can look at a webpage and lay all the pieces down, I struggle so much with that so the backend came easier to me. Also when I started I felt like the logic flow of the backend and Ruby was easy for me to understand than the frontend.
I am backend developer for about 12 years. I love it so much. Thanks to Ruby which keeps me happy all the time.
I am amazed by front end designs and SPA. I keep on collecting great designs and clever CSS hacks but I use them for reference to get it done from frontend designers and developers.
Copy/Paste frontend snippets FTW!!!
I often refer to frontend people as Wizards, bc I literally feel like they wave their hands and beautiful things suddenly appear on the page. SO much respect for that ability!
THIS! It blows my mind what people can do with CSS.
Front-end! I tried back-end for a while but found it to be quite dull. I get that some of the performance challenges can be interesting to work on, but most of the time I felt like I was just passing data from one place to another.
On the front-end I get to sink my teeth into way more diverse topics like UX, animation, performance, etc.
I guess I've always just had a love for graphics :)
Backend!
My initial days in web programming were as a frontend but having to deal every hour with CSS and browsers was unappealing.
Then came this day I had the chance to do a migration of about 20 wordpress sites. I did manually for every site but learn a lot and promised myself to learn bash to automate things.
Also, I had started to relearn Ruby on Rails(I had been introduced to the framework in that same place), got a job as a RoR backend developer(in a another company) and from that day on, I've been a backend.
In fact, I'm a fullstack but I consider fullstacking as a myth but yeah, have to believe it from time to time :D
I like backend, but I'm a frontend guy. I really like visual programming where I can see my code come to life in a more user-friendly way. I like making things for the common person more than other developers.
For me they each strike a different chord. On front-end, it is very satisfying to iterate on a design and finally arrive at something which makes the user feel safe and confident in their task. On back-end, it feels like a sweet accomplishment when I figure out a way to handle a complex use case elegantly.
I probably prefer the logic-based constraints of the back-end more than the cognitive science constraints of the front-end. But I like to get into both.
I am both, thou most people prefer me to work on the front-end side because i work swiftly like an hour for an estimated 8 hours of work. I also like dealing with data / API integration / SQL stored procs as they are fun to work with thou easy if the framework you are working on is organized (component-based).
Front End gal here! I think it's probably because I'm also a designer, and those two just work so well with each other. Then I can design something and develop it and everything is right with the world. :P
In my first job, I started as a Java Backend Developer (Java EE with Tomcat and JBoss).
I really liked the opportunities and different approaches which backend development offered to me (APIs, databases, Spring Framework).
In the last years I do not spend much time writing Java code. My primary language for backend work is now TypeScript and / or JavaScript (which - in my opinion - makes developing faster).
In my current job I am also doing some DevOps stuff with Kubernetes and Docker, which I also like very much.
As I am now working in a smaller company I also have to do some Frontend work with React and Angular, which is totally okay for me and I also find it enjoyable.
So at the moment I would call myself a Fullstack / DevOps Engineer, but I still prefer Backend work, because I am a terrible designer.
If I am forced to put some numbers in here, I would say 75% backend and 25% frontend.
The only drawback in Backend development: Your work is not as present as Frontend stuff.
Front End because it's been such a fun part of my life for the last decade, but back then I never knew that it could lead to a legitimate career. There are days where it actually is shocking to feel like I'm being paid to do what I love doing. Making clean and delightful user interfaces makes me actually giddy.
I started with graphic design and now I mostly work in the front end. I love the instant visual feedback of it.
I used to think the back end was the more complicated bit, but I'm not as sure anymore. Front end is plenty complicated these days, and I should really spend more time with the back end.
I'm a full-stack dude because of two reasons:
I happen to know python, php, JS and HTML/CSS, and they all play their part in the stack! I don't have a thorough mastery over front-end CSS design, so I use a solid framework like Bootstrap and libraries like DataTables.net for development.
If I were working in a large IT company like Google or Amazon as a dev, maybe I could have afforded the specialization of working as a frontend or backend dev!
I've only been coding for over a year and haven't yet landed a job, but I really prefer backend.
When I first got into coding, I thought I wanted to go into frontend but then I learned Ruby on Rails and fell in love with the backend.
When I started learning how to code, the first programming language I ever learnt was C++ but I really did not enjoy it since 100% of all what I built were console apps. I really wanted something I can see immediately (something visually appealing to me) so I had to switch to frontend since it was much more appealing to me.
But I started learning backend(NodeJs) over 2 years ago and it is becoming more fun as I get to understand how systems are designed and engineered.
I didn't enjoy writing any front-end code until I discovered Vue.JS. Overall I like the backend more, I don't wanna fight with CSS and supporting a ton of different web browsers.
I'm glad that at my current job the application I'm working on is for internal use only and I only have to support the latest version of Chrome and Firefox.