The web development ecosystem is downright daunting for newcomers. I’ve been thinking a lot about what a minimum curriculum for frontend devs might be. In other words—what’s the minimum path from nothing to applying for your first FE job?
I think it’d go something like this:
1) How the web works (e.g., client v server, HTTP)
2) HTML
3) CSS
4) JavaScript
5) Git
6) Choose a framework (React, Vue, etc)
7) Security (e.g., HTTPS, XSS, CSRF)
8) Accessibility
9) Projects (~1 vanilla, 2 framework)
Thoughts? Obviously, there’s so much more to the ecosystem, but again I’m trying to distill down to the minimum for a first FE job.
If you enjoy this discussion, please give it a 💓, 🦄, or 🔖 and consider:
- signing up for my free weekly dev newsletter
- subscribing to my free YouTube dev channel
Latest comments (54)
With the rapid pace of change in the tech industry, it can be difficult to predict which skills will be in demand in the future ?
However, there are top 10 skills that are essential for any front-end developer.
I think the security part can be something you don't want to be an expert at initially.
Instead of piling on to or tweaking this list, I'll start with what too many people in positions to hire devs at any level - but especially junior - fail to notice, acknowledge, or emphasize:
0) Willingness to:
I may not be able to hire you on this alone, but I can forgive and work with you on getting up to speed on anything lacking in what everyone else has mentioned if I see that you're strong in this requirement 0.
Hire for potential, not just current demonstrated proficiency - and that's not even getting into just how awful and ineffective most hiring processes' checks for proficiency are.
While far too many companies treat "junior" as "we're too cheap to pay you mid-senior level, but you still need a gazillion skills in these (often niche) technologies," it actually means "entry level" or not far from it. Keep that in mind and remember that you used to be there, just waiting for someone to recognize your potential and give you a chance, or at least tell you where and how to improve.
And if you expect all these things right off the bat, then you should probably be mentoring the hell out of people on and off the job; or at the very least, making damn sure you follow a rejection with detailed pointers on where to improve.
Javascript, Html, CSS, and JQuery. Any less and I'd be surprised if you got considered.
This post is really helpful for newbies like me. Thank you .
Curiosity and willingness to learn!
I think it depends on the job:
maintenance -> you need a bit of JS, CSS, HTML, JQuery, Bootstrap.
Greenfield -> basic understanding of TS and one of the 3 major front-end tools (Angular, Vue, React) along with one of their widget sets (well Angular means just Angular Material)
Security and Accessibility from a junior... I don't know. In the end your list seems to fit better for a mid-level (3-5 years experience) rather than a junior.
Over the top standards. Juniors should come with a solid base understanding of JS, CSS, HTML and how the web theoretically works with each other. Everything else is learnable or a plus.
Now let’s talk soft skills. Communication and being able to discussion objectively should be nothing the junior is afraid off. Teamwork and the kind of spirit to learn new interesting stuff must be given.
My bar is this. Can you learn and do you care?
Yes I can and I do care to learn.
Then to quote Dr She's. "Oh the places you'll go!"
I think a junior programmer should have developed using some modern UI framework (like React, Angular or Vue). They should have done some meaningful project to land a job.
Which framework is less important. But I don't agree that just knowing JavaScript is enough. Because there's a lot of knowledge that comes with these frameworks that is hard to pick up.
I would say that if the person were senior but didn't know any of the frameworks it would be no big deal. But as a junior its important because you don't have years of knowledge under your belt. Besides, all companies prefer if you hit the ground running.