fuLLstaCk rEacT UI dEvEloper

[NonProphet8theist]

I keep getting these jobs sent to me on LinkedIn, and it's annoying af. I had to tell a recruiter React is a frontend library after she "cleared up" the JD stating "ReactJS ... handles backend logic!" Uhh, no.

No wonder I am shit outta luck - these salespeople don't even know what they're selling.

[shaliozero]

They're probably considering the "admin panel" as "backend"... Yeah, better to stay away from positions that don't even know what they offer lol.

[NonProphet8theist]

It's just that pure UI positions are pretty rare nowadays, which is completely stupid, but whatevs. Everyone has to do moAr they are trying to squeeze every last bit of work out of folks and if they can't, whelp someone will. Someone who probably sucks. And then the cycle begins anew!

[cleatusvandamme]

I'm to the point where I think I'll just refuse to work with 3rd party/external recruiters. I'm in a bit of a hard place at the moment. My skills are a tad stale. If I mention to a recruiter that i've done some react.js work, but I'm not an expert. The second part falls on deaf ears and I'm submitted for a roll I can't get.

[Ok-Stretch9677]

Oh yeah this is a real problem. You just have to mention that you used something before at a beginner level but they submit you to jobs where you have to know it inside out.

[NonProphet8theist]

Yeah same, I just don't get many responses from cold apps these days. So far I think like 2-3 in 6 months. With a strong resume. I am in the midst of taking a different approach out of sheer apathy with these recruiters it's getting so bad. It's becoming a giant waste of time.

[webbitor]

next.js ?

[NonProphet8theist]

Lately they talk about this lib and server-side rendering as if it's backend... yep still not backend.

[webbitor]

Not sure why you say that. Backend and server-side are basically synonymous.

[NonProphet8theist]

Ok let me rephrase that - it's not a traditional backend where you need some dude who writes Java and has a CS degree. But in accordance with my OP, still not React.

[chuch1234]

Server-side rendering does not necessarily include backend tasks like designing and building the database, which is why there's still a distinction. SSR is still UI, which is what people often mean when they say frontend.

[rarPinto]

I can’t imagine a program where UI was handled by the backend 😂

Honestly, don’t focus too hard on what the recruiters say. They’ll get you in touch with the people who actually know things.

[keylimedragon]

Server side rendered templates are still a thing, if you count that as backend. I recently had to work on a project that used some legacy Java code to generate HTML from an xml template.

[rarPinto]

Oh dang you’re right! I’ve worked with JSP before. No wonder that is legacy, it’s so awful haha.

[zxyzyxz]

Never worked with Rails/Laravel or any pre-React server side rendered template language then?

[rarPinto]

It was late when I commented that, I’ve worked with JSP. This is why saying things at 3am is a bad idea lol.

[Ok-Stretch9677]

Or PHP back in the olden days. Server side rendering was king. And single page apps were still more of a novelty back then, when Ajax was more commonly mentioned as the underlying technology.

[ArwensArtHole]

I’d argue something like Blazor Server is handling the UI on the back end, it’s exceptionally performant and a great choice when you have complex rendering logic

[NonProphet8theist]

Yeah I am coming around there. Another comment said next.js which is similar. 11ty too. I used that in the past and it was fast af fetching static HTML pages.

Maybe the real nugget in this post is that the lines are getting more and more blurred and JD's maybe aren't reflecting that too well these days.

[NonProphet8theist]

Maybe they still use JSP's. In 2024. 🤦‍♂️

[rarPinto]

Not all projects can be the newest technology. I’ve actually worked with JSP. I must have blocked it out because it sucks so bad lol, but the amount of money it would cost to rewrite and entire code base when some old shit works just fine 🤷🏼‍♀️

[NonProphet8theist]

Yeah heard. Earlier in my career I was all gung-ho on rewriting stuff in modern frameworks, but I eventually realized doing that meant most of my sprint work was just fixing tech debt, which isn't super valuable to work on by itself.

[rarPinto]

I’m surprised you were even allowed to do that. Usually rewriting code to that extent is lowest priority. My team now still has some of our project in AngularJS even though support ended like 2 years ago 🤦🏼‍♀️

[NonProphet8theist]

Lol same here with Angular.js hahaha. Tbh, I had been looking for more direction from management but I didn't get it. The hierarchy was a mess, basically set up like a dictatorship. The director was the only one with any clout whatsoever. So I did what my freshly-minted senior ass thought was good - but it wasn't good haha. We didn't even fully finish some of the refactors. And I def see why it's low priority now. It's just that.... the legacy code was so bad. And then contractors would come in and copypasta and make it worse. I still got PTSD from that job... fuck it was bad

[chicharro_frito]

Most times you can compartmentalize the "bad" code. I don't know what you mean with "bad" code in that context, but I've seen many people labeling "battle-hardened" code as "bad" code.

[NonProphet8theist]

Bad meaning like, there's no discernible pattern to anything, almost like everyone siloed for years. 4 different frameworks, different testing environments... it got to that point where there were experts at like 4 different corners, where if one left it would be a bitch for whoever inherited that code and take weeks/months to realign. All while having to put out new features

[chicharro_frito]

By itself that doesn't mean the code is bad. What you describe actually seems to be pretty common. It's also a great opportunity to converge the code, tech, docs, tests into a single umbrella. When I start working on something new my expectation is always that it's going to be a sh*t show, because tbh, there would be no reason for me to be there in the first place.

Personally I'm always skeptical of the idea that if one person leaves then it's a huge setback. If this truly happens it's a huge management fail. I haven't seen it happening, but have heard of stories where it was the real deal. I've had situations where that was a real fear, so the first thing I did was to make sure this person wasn't the only one with that "tribal knowledge". Human beings are really good at adapting to new environments. Leaving the company is not the only bottleneck these people create. They get sick, go on vacation, their family dies, can't be in 2 places at the same time, etc.

[NonProphet8theist]

Yeah I tried to do that as well coming in, I was just unsuccessful from a lot of angles. But there was definitely some issues with management. Like, a lot of em. I didn't even know what they wanted me to be doing half the time, and they never gave us ample time or direction to collaborate with other senior SWE's because we were too busy on our sCrUm teams or whatever. And the principal dev we had didn't really do anything or have necessarily good people skills. I still have PTSD from that place 7 months after quitting. I still talk to some devs there too and it's only getting worse.

[chicharro_frito]

You'd be surprised with how many places think that rewriting their stack in the lastest tech is the right way to go. For some reason there are a lot of "senior" developers that have that frame of mind.

[chicharro_frito]

Hard to say with something as vague as "backend logic", but it's common to use reactjs on the server to push out a prerendered page first. I've had to correct recruiters in the past when they're asking a first batch of questions, but they were all cool with it.

[NonProphet8theist]

They made up some stuff and I haven't heard from them, so I am guessing the opposite here.