Re:Ask HN: Should I be specializing in either front end or b...
by throwaway2016a on Wednesday June 22, 2022 @09:56AM
(#31836032)
Full stack allows a single dev to "own" the whole ticket. It's great for startups but not so much at larger (or even medium sized) companies.
If you're "really bad at front-end" I would say: not a full stack. If you can't own a ticket end to end and create a front-end that is at least comparable in quality to a dedicated front-end developer then you are just a backend developer.
Similar to how I know some mobile dev but wouldn't call myself a mobile app developer in a million years.
With that said, I have interviewed a lot of people and full-stack is such a buzzword now that probably 2/3 of the people with it on their resume are in that boat. (good at one level of the stack and just a passing knowledge of the others)
I have had recruiters tell me so many times: "Oh, I found this awesome candidate, they're a full stack developer!" only to find there idea of full stack is they know how to add a border to a div with CSS or they are a front-end wizard but their only backend knowledge is SQL.
If you're "really bad at front-end" I would say: not a full stack. If you can't own a ticket end to end and create a front-end that is at least comparable in quality to a dedicated front-end developer then you are just a backend developer.
Similar to how I know some mobile dev but wouldn't call myself a mobile app developer in a million years.
With that said, I have interviewed a lot of people and full-stack is such a buzzword now that probably 2/3 of the people with it on their resume are in that boat. (good at one level of the stack and just a passing knowledge of the others)
I have had recruiters tell me so many times: "Oh, I found this awesome candidate, they're a full stack developer!" only to find there idea of full stack is they know how to add a border to a div with CSS or they are a front-end wizard but their only backend knowledge is SQL.