Should you go full-stack or only front end / backend?

I think full stack is just one of those terms which describe someone that works in both front and back end. I consider myself a full stack developer because my job requires me to work in both front and back end. But my strength is in backend code. I think this is true of many developers, they are full stack but their strength is in one of the other.

Also, back end or front end, things change, stacks improve, etc. I do not believe the end exists, I believe you can become very knowledable but every day is a lesson, even for developers who have been coding for far longer.

Some of the developers I work with are incredible, their knowlege in both backend and frontend stuff is amazing, but by their own admission, they do not know everything, which is why forums such as these exist, so we can reach into the community and keep on learning.

More than anything, I believe its down to personal choice. I think a person should do what they feel most comfortable with and makes sense for them and their personal circumstances.

I think a lot of "full-stack" devs didn't really set out to become full-stack devs, but just wanted to build entire apps on their own. Say you have a few years of experience on the front-end, so you can build polished UIs and build interactive JS components. You know how to consume APIs but don't know anything about building one. This takes you into the backend and everything that goes with it (building APIs, databases, sessions, etc.). You continue to learn as you go, based on what's required from the apps you build.

I think it's important to enjoy what you are doing. If you only enjoy front-end and not so much back-end (or vice versa), that's perfectly fine, there's always something new you can learn on the front-end.

For me personally, I did a lot of freelancing where my clients were not very technical. They just wanted an app that worked. They had no idea what front-end or back-end was. I learned along the way and acquired "full-stack" skills doing it. If you work for larger companies, they might have dedicated teams to front-end and back-end so you may never have to touch the other side of the stack.

In today's World better go full stack. You are thinking about when front was simple template language, too much now in front in some apps.

an overwhelming amount of things that you'd need to learn.

Well professionals in other fields have to learn a lot. So learn it.

You don't have to know every front, just maybe what your company is using.

I use bootstrap, custom css, fetch js, jquery, regular js, php templates, blade, of course html, etc.

So pick a combo and learn.

@martinzeltin It depends what your goals and aspirations are. If you just want to focus on one “end” of the stack, then do so. If you want to be able to go between the front- and back-end, then that’s fine too. There’s no right or wrong answer.

Regardless of what route you choose, I’d heavily recommend learning the basics of HTTP, and how code gets from your server to an end client, though. That knowledge is invaluable, whether you’re working on the front end or the back end.