
Ask HN: How do you realise that you are not a false positive developer? - tpkahlon
I was an average Frontend Designer from 2015-2018 who used to do code WordPress custom development, Bootstrap Sass customisation, Frontend coding etc. for small agency. Beginning of this year, I spent most of the time acquiring knowledge in JavaScript and React ecosystem. I have built open source projects on GitHub to demonstrate my ability to handle Frontend aspect of an application. My questions are:<p>1. What is the key criteria or realisation point where I am able to work a job as a professional Frontend Developer?<p>2. The more I learn JS, I realise the lesser I know and there is much more I need to cover. Some days, feeling of being a false positive kicks in and I start to believe that I am a fake and is not ready for a junior position even. This barrier tends to grow in day by day.<p>3. The decision to spend more time on learning technology and building personal projects solely over a longer period of time costed me on soft skills part and making connections. Is being an extraordinary articulator or good salesman a new vital facet of a Frontend developer?<p>4. Having a likening for CSS in JS world, or getting generalised by “UX Developer” not “Software Developer”, Does it lower the chances of being employable in current market (even though, you as a candidate are willing to learn React ecosystem but where is the line for a self-taught developer: design patterns, hooks, context, redux, saga, reselect, custom webpack bundling, flux, typescript, unit testing, jest)?<p>5. I have interest in CS and Maths but no clue on how these two fields amalgamate and what pathways from Frontend lead to them? I have curiosity about UNIX, Maths  in general and would love to learn them more at an academic level to attain mastery.<p>I have attached my Github here: https:&#x2F;&#x2F;github.com&#x2F;tpkahlon, in case someone wants to review my GitHub and personal projects.
======
caymanjim
It's a big leap from WordPress to software engineering. If you're trying for a
serious development role, you're going to have to learn modern UI frameworks,
build tools, and software development methodologies (many of which you list in
#4). You can learn these on your own, but you're not going to have the resume
to back it up. It'll be hard to get a foot in the door. You'll have better
luck learning--and better luck getting interviews--if you go to a crash-course
coding school program (General Assembly, AppAcademy, etc).

Neither CS nor math have any real bearing on frontend software development.
They don't matter much for the majority of backend development roles either.
You'd learn more relevant skills much faster on your own or in a code academy
than you would in a university setting. By all means, get a CS or math degree
if you can, but not because you want to be a JavaScript UI/UX developer.

If you're trying to get a job developing English sites, I'd also recommend
improving your English skills. While your English is great for a second-
language speaker, and perfectly fine for casual conversation, it's not ready
for public exposure in a professional setting. You might be able to work on
backend code without any difficulty, and you'd be able to communicate with
your coworkers, but there are many grammatical errors. Appearance counts a
great deal if you're looking for a frontend job. Even most native English
speakers struggle to write well enough to be the face of a company.

------
napolux
Some background: I'm a professional programmer since 2005, let me say I'm a
full-stack, but I don't really like the definition.

> 1\. What is the key criteria or realisation point where I am able to work a
> job as a professional Frontend Developer?

There's no "realisation" IMHO. It's like when you can barely swim and someone
throws you in deep waters: you can swim, but you won't feel safe for a while.
You apply for a job and if hired, you simply feel inadequate for a while. Then
after a while everything looks ok and manageable. Until you change your job
and start again. Happened to me every time I moved to a new job, it's pretty
normal.

> 2\. The more I learn JS, I realise the lesser I know and there is much more
> I need to cover. Some days, feeling of being a false positive kicks in and I
> start to believe that I am a fake and is not ready for a junior position
> even. This barrier tends to grow in day by day.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome)
welcome onboard!

> 3\. The decision to spend more time on learning technology and building
> personal projects solely over a longer period of time costed me on soft
> skills part and making connections. Is being an extraordinary articulator or
> good salesman a new vital facet of a Frontend developer?

It depends. The era of the solitary uber-nerd is gone. Find a spot where you
feel comfortable, try to join (virtual, with COVID) communities...

> 4\. Having a likening for CSS in JS world, or getting generalised by “UX
> Developer” not “Software Developer”, Does it lower the chances of being
> employable in current market (even though, you as a candidate are willing to
> learn React ecosystem but where is the line for a self-taught developer:
> design patterns, hooks, context, redux, saga, reselect, custom webpack
> bundling, flux, typescript, unit testing, jest)?

Don't label yourself. You're a frontend developer... Companies usually expects
you can work with a lot of stuff... Practice interviewing is the only
suggestion I can give you... Then, again, look at my first answer...

> 5\. I have interest in CS and Maths but no clue on how these two fields
> amalgamate and what pathways from Frontend lead to them? I have curiosity
> about UNIX, Maths in general and would love to learn them more at an
> academic level to attain mastery.

Good for you, CS and math concepts are universal, so go for them.

> I have attached my Github here:
> [https://github.com/tpkahlon](https://github.com/tpkahlon), in case someone
> wants to review my GitHub and personal projects.

Looks fine to me for someone at your level. I would start by adding tests to
your projects and a travis ci build running them :)

