i've done both (although my client-based experience is now a little old-ish). i've worked on client-based stuff (c++ mostly) and done your standard web app dev work (rails, php, java, etc.).
the turning point for me, where i decided that i wanted to focus more on web dev type things, was in a UI and software engineering class i took in college. we had to build a c/c++ program to process and display some data graphically, with a nice gui interface.
learning about, creating, and working with a modest GUI was painful and time consuming, to say the least. everyone struggled, and what took my group (4ish people) weeks in c/c++ and MFC would've taken me hours with html/javascript. the productivity difference and learning curve totally turned me off of client-based app work.
having said all of that, i acknowledge that i didn't do work in .net or in a java framework, and i know that the situation is currently much better than it used to be. i'm not claiming that one is better than the other, just explaining why i turned my focus away from client-based apps. i'd love to return to them, just haven't had the need or time to do so.
also, full disclosure, i dropped rescuetime an email about employment a while ago :)
the turning point for me, where i decided that i wanted to focus more on web dev type things, was in a UI and software engineering class i took in college. we had to build a c/c++ program to process and display some data graphically, with a nice gui interface.
learning about, creating, and working with a modest GUI was painful and time consuming, to say the least. everyone struggled, and what took my group (4ish people) weeks in c/c++ and MFC would've taken me hours with html/javascript. the productivity difference and learning curve totally turned me off of client-based app work.
having said all of that, i acknowledge that i didn't do work in .net or in a java framework, and i know that the situation is currently much better than it used to be. i'm not claiming that one is better than the other, just explaining why i turned my focus away from client-based apps. i'd love to return to them, just haven't had the need or time to do so.
also, full disclosure, i dropped rescuetime an email about employment a while ago :)