Which path to take?

When you begin the road of a Software Engineer, you will encounter the big first step of deciding whether you want to be front-end or a back-end. If you're not sure of what to do, that is okay, it happens to everyone. Sometimes you know, sometimes you don't.

If you're curious how to decide which one is for you, do a simple self test that possibly may help shine some light on the decision.

Open up a website, focus on the visual of how it loads. Does this make your jaw drop? Do you place your index finger and thumb slightly under your chin and think..."wow, that is so cool how things look on this website" (e.g. the flashy colors, the fonts, the animations, even the way its organized).

If this is you, and that initial reaction then leads to "how do they make this animation do that?" being genuinely curious about how all the parts move on the front page might be an indicator that you're probably the type of person who may head the path to front-end UX/UI route.

Myself, it has been long time, but still recall going to various websites and inspecting the element to see how it all worked out. I even would edit and manipulate different aspects of the page just to see what would happen, or how much I could drastically change the page before refreshing. That was how I knew front-end UX/UI was my path.

Moving on...

Perhaps you look at a page and don't even think about the visuals, but the thought that does marinate in your head is, "Where and how does this information get stored or where does it come from?" Then you definitely are going to be someone who may be interested in the back-end side of things.

Simple right? No?

Think of any other hobby, interest, job, or career out there. Everyone has to make that same decision. You either choose what is on the outside or what is on the inside approach. Technically, you could always do both. Nothing wrong with that, we call those magicians Full-Stack.

Lets list some examples of outside vs inside.

Car enthusiasts:

• Some like to collect cars because of how they look.
• Others really like to build cars, and rebuild, or fix, or something of that sort.
• Then you have those who do both.

Card game players:

• You either play the game because you really like the artwork on the cards.
• Or you're the type that really enjoys the behind the scenes data that goes with the game, aka the stats that make each card unique. You may not care about the visuals of the card but you like the data tied to it.
• Could be you like both, and really choose your cards based on both visual and data.

Doctors:

• You may like altering the exterior of someone body, face, etc. So you become a cosmetic doctor
• You may be more interested in helping people feel better. Curing illness and the like, so you become a normal family doctor.
• You may even like doing both, becoming an overall surgeon that performs emergency operations on those who received damage to their exterior, or removing a burst appendix.

The list goes on and on, a lot of individuals out there have to make the decision of other outside or inside.

Don't worry, it will come to you naturally, and just remember, you can always learn one after the other if you want to. Stressing over what path to choose will only delay your progress to get started. Find one you see appealing and go with it, if you realize it isn't your cup of tea, then that is okay. Remember you still gained knowledge and that knowledge can be used later. If you learn front-end and don't enjoy it, switch to back-end. You'll realize that bit of front-end knowledge you learned is actually beneficial for your back-end journey. This works both ways, you learn back-end and switch to front-end. You will find that information is highly beneficial in many ways. Could even lead you down the path of being full-stack.

Hope this helps some of you out there. Time to check in with some fellow Engineers that I interact with.

How you doing?

I feel rejected, I always get ghosted or hear nothing back from recruiters after we speak once.

I want to quit, there is too much to learn and I can't keep up. I'll never get a job in software engineer no matter how hard I try.

Need anything? What can I do to help?

• If a recruiter ever ghosts you, don't take it personally. I am not going to defend the action of ghosting, but some recruiters just get overwhelmed, they are human just as everyone else is. I've spoke to countless recruiters from Disney, Amazon, etc... If you get ghosted, it could be they just forgot, sometimes they have deadlines to meet. Remember that they interview dozen upon dozens of talented engineers as well. When the decision is made and they provide an offer to someone, they really need to get the ball rolling to ensure the selected candidate can start on an expected date. It is what it is, move on and keep applying. People may ghost you in real life, even those who you thought were very close to you, you may want an explanation or answer. Just let it go and move on to the next.

• Quitting will not get you anywhere. Software Engineering is a lot of information, the main thing to focus on is that you are 1% better than you were the day before. That should be the goal you aim for each day you are programming. What doesn't make sense today, should make a bit more sense tomorrow. Do not compare yourself with others who may have been doing this longer, or are more knowledgeable. They are not you, and you will catch up to them sooner or later. Remember, there is no such thing as someone who knows everything and stops learning. Senior or Staff level engineers have questions or need to do their own research when they run into problems. Software Engineering is an ongoing path of learning and failing. Don't expect to know everything right out the gate. Keep pushing forward and aiming to be 1% better than you were the day before. It will pay off as time goes on. You'll look back to 3 months prior and say to yourself "wow, I know nearly 10x more now than I did when I first began." Keep Learning.