Beginning a Career in Frontend Development
Do you want to be a "Tech Bro", "Tech Sis" or a "Tech Giant"? Do you want to swim in "Tech Money" by being a solution provider? Then, join me as we take a dive into the sea of "Frontend Development/ Engineering" through my eyes, experiences and thoughts.
There has been a lot of migration into Tech and in an ever-growing world, the need and pressure to upskill has never been thicker. There are many successful transition stories, testimonials of purpose discovery and solutions to whet the appetite and spur the interest of a “non-Techie”. However, the need to develop personal convictions, grit and a deeper purpose for being in Tech cannot be over-emphasized. If you're new to all this Tech stuff, you're probably wondering, "what does the term 'Techie' mean"?
According to the Oxford dictionary, a Techie is a person who is expert in or enthusiastic about technology, especially computing. A Techie could also be likened to a person that works in a technological establishment. Are you enthusiastic about Tech? If yes, congratulations you are a Techie.
Getting into Tech can be overwhelming, there are a plethora of career options and paths to choose from and because Tech is a journey, picking a travel destination can be daunting. If you feel that way you’re not alone. Make a careful exploration of your choices and choose a path. If you get stuck or change your mind you can always go back and pick a new career destination. For our Tech enthusiast who's reading this post, Frontend Development is very likely their chosen career path.
**What is Web Development? **
In simple terms, Web Development *is the building, developing and maintaining a website. *A website is usually made up of the frontend and backend.
The frontend refers to the part of the website that can be seen by everyone. It refers to the code-written display of the design and layout of a website. It’s the part of the website that the user interacts with and as such is referred to as “the client side”. The backend refers to the logic behind the running of a website. The backend usually stores data and is often referred to as “server-side”.
Why Frontend Development?
Have you ever had a good idea but struggled with expressing the idea? Or had a big idea but a subpar presentation? If yes, you would agree with me that the presentation of an idea or thing is as big as the idea behind the thing, hence, the need for Frontend development. People usually judge a book by its cover, and this is why many brands have lost money in their millions because of a bad user interface. Frontend Development is the crown of your big idea. It is the solution offered by an individual or organization in website format. This key aspect of a digital product will save your coins, convert your brand's potential customers to loyalists and help build people's trust the brand.
Skills Required in Frontend Development
Here, you'll find technical and soft skills required to succeed as a Frontend Developer.
Soft Skills
Communication
Interpersonal Relations
Creativity
An eye for detail
Persistence and perseverance
Grit and a growth mindset
Patience
Excellence
Technical/Hard Skills
HTML - “Hyper Text Markup Language” where you learn how to structure a website.
CSS - CSS is “Cascading Style Sheet”. It brings style to the HTML structures of your design. In a presentation, CSS can be likened to the colour, font-size and many more styling options used to draw the attention of a user.
JavaScript - This is the heart of the website. It brings functionality to the website. It answers the question - what happens when I click on a button? What happens when I move from light mode to dark mode? What happens when I press a key on my keyboard?
Knowledge of APIs
Knowledge of version control and frameworks of the above-mentioned skills
There are frameworks of the above-mentioned technical skills that should be known by a frontend developer, they are:
Frameworks and Libraries of CSS which include bootstrap, material UI, tailwind and many more.
Frameworks and libraries of JavaScript used in frontend development include reactJS, angularJs, jQuery and many more.
The RoadMap of a Frontend Developer
We've picked a career path and now we are about to board a plane, there are so many routes to choose from with different time durations but fret not, I'll be your Tour Guide and I'll advise you on the best routes available.
Humans are as unique as their journey but there are some generic maps, we use to navigate the country of Frontend Development. Most new entrants to the land of coding powerful UIs usually begin with:
Learning HTML - Exploring CSS and some frameworks before moving to JavaScript and its framework. Version control is usually learnt in between HTML/CSS and JavaScript. Knowledge of APIs especially Rest APIs is often required for frontend development as it allows the Frontend Developer develop user interfaces with functional business logic without the need of server-side logic. It gives you an edge in the marketplace.
Another edgy skill of a Frontend Developer is the ability to understand databases (both relational and non-relational data) using tools like mySQL, graphQL, MongoDB to mention a few.
Perks of being a Frontend Developer
There are so many perks of being a Frontend Developer:
Breathing life to amazing UI/UX designs
Providing home grown solutions to organizational problems
The satisfaction of being innovative and creative
Great prospects and high salary expectation
Being part of a community of "Techies"
Tools Required for Frontend Development
Google - Google is the best friend of any Developer. It's arms of help are always stretched and capable. Google is the guy you call when you are lost in the land of breathing life to UI designs.
IDE's - Integrated Development Environment such as Visual Studio Code and Atom, are tools used for building applications that combine common development tools in a single work environment.
A community of like minds
Documentation
The Command Line
A functional laptop and good internet connection
How to Become a Frontend Developer
We can travel from point A to point B using airplanes, trains, cars or even bicycles. Frontend Development, as a country, has different means of transportation that gets you deeper into the city. Some of these means are listed below:
Bootcamps
Online Courses from well-known platforms like Ustacky, Udemy, Coursera, etc.
Trainings and Fellowships such as AyaGigs Fellowship that takes you from a beginner Frontend Developer to not just a top-notch Frontend Developer but a future stakeholder in the web3 town of Frontend Development.
Gender-based programs like Women Techsters, etc.
An associate degree or bachelor's degree in software and web development areas of specialization.
Documentation, Articles and Books
Other free and paid resources
YouTube Videos
Make a careful exploration of your means of transportation and explore the land of breathing life to UI designs.
In Closing
The journey to being a Frontend Developer is extremely flexible and unique so do not be overtly perturbed when you miss deadlines, fail to meet targets or do not produce enough results as others who started with you. Do not be scared to build your own path.
I am on my own path, and I look forward to seeing you and receiving as a new citizen of the land of Frontend Development.