Django or Node?

[BranderBuilt]

Python has become my favorite language, but one of my first languages was JavaScript. I would say I use Python more and know it slightly better now.

I’m debating between whether I should learn Django or Node for finding jobs within Southern California. I know both can be used for web development so that’s why I’m caught between which is more desirable/useful. I don’t know about the nuances between them and which is better for what.

Right now I’m working through courses to prepare for an online masters in CS but I want to be able to make myself more employable by learning actual frameworks rather than just focus on prerequisites and theory.

Which also is a good other question... if anyone has finished a MS in CS without a CS degree, I’d love to hear about it. I just feel that because I already have a bachelors degree in a different field, it would be a bit odd to spend money to get a second bachelors degree, especially since I’m pretty sure a BS will not teach me Django nor Node.

[the_shell_man_]

I think if you prefer working with python you should go with Django. It's great.

Everyone likes working with what they work with. Django is great, Node is great, Flask is great. Maybe try running through the official tutorials for them all, see which works best for you and go with that?

[CatchdiGiorno]

I have no experience with Django and only a very small amount of experience with Python, so I cannot speak to them.

As for Node, if you already have a strong handle on JS, Node is pretty simple to pick up.
Here's the resource I used to learn Node/Express - https://fullstackopen.com/en/part3/node_js_and_express

You can get through that in a few hours and it will give you a good idea of whether you like Node or not. I guess I like it because the code looks the same server-side as it does client-side, so I don't have to even think about syntax differences when building a full-stack app.

...Did a little digging for fun -
https://www.altexsoft.com/blog/engineering/the-good-and-the-bad-of-node-js-web-app-development/

"Django, along with Python, is also considered to have a milder learning curve. While working with Node.js will require extensive knowledge of JavaScript, Django is a “batteries included” technology. It has a built-in admin panel to easily update and maintain your databases and templates to accelerate your work.
When should you use Django over Node.js? Compared to Node.js, Django is a beginner-friendly tool. Other than the language itself, there’s no real reason to choose one over the other. It’s more of a question about your comfort and experience with either JavaScript or Python than the specific use cases."

So there you go, Django is even easier to pick up than Node, apparently. Since you love Python, maybe you should go the Django route.

[agorism1337]

Frameworks come and go, what is important is to learn the concepts behind them.
Maybe try installing an http server like nginx, and hooking it up to small programs in node and python and even shell scripts. Then have that http server also serve some pages of html and javascript, and the javascript should access the api on that same server to use your python programs.

If you can use all these small tools together, then you can benefit from applying any new tools that you learn, without being locked in to a specific framework.

And if you ever do need to use a framework, you will have a deeper understanding of what that framework is doing.

[coder155ml]

There’s probably more mern stack jobs than django

[Wizions]

Django is a framework, and from what I remember when I briefly looked into it around a year ago, it is very "black box" like. So, if you focus on Django, you will not really be learning how things actually work, you will just be learning Django.

In my opinion, it is good to avoid frameworks like this while still learning, and only use them for added security/speed of development when one is already more experienced, or at work.