How the "The Three Little Pigs" Story Helped Me Become A Better Frontend Developer

Once upon a time, there was an old mother pig who had three little pigs ๐Ÿท.

Since she didn't have enough food, she sent them out into the world as soon as they were old enough.

So, each pig had to build his own house:

  • The 1st one, lazy and eager to play, built his house out of straw.
  • The 2nd one, a bit less lazy but still lazy, built a house of sticks ๐Ÿฅข.
  • The 3rd pig, extra diligent, crafted a solid brick house ๐Ÿงฑ.

The next day, a wolf ๐Ÿบ came by wanting to eat them.

  • He knocked on the 1st pig house that obviously didn't open. Unfortunately, since the house was made of straw, the wolf blew it down. The 1st pig had to run to the 2nd pig's house.
  • Then, he tried to enter the 2nd pig's house. Once again, the wolf blew it away since the house was made of sticks. Now, the two pigs hid at the 3rd pig's house.
  • Finally, the wolf tried the 3rd pig's house. He couldn't blow it down, so he tried the chimney. Unfortunately for him, the 3rd pig had a pot full of boiling water under the chimney, and the wolf fell in. The three pigs ate him for dinner ๐Ÿฅ˜.

And they lived happily ever after...

Wolf cooking

Back to us, how does this tale relate to frontend development?

As a junior frontend developer, you have 3 options:

  • Option #1: Quickly go through the basics (HTML, CSS, JS, ...) without dedicating time to proper learning.
  • Option #2: Learn the fundamentals but not apply them in practical projects.
  • Option #3: Learn the fundamentals and actively apply them in practical projects.

If you choose the last option, when the "big wolf" (i.e., Job Interviews, JavaScript Frameworks, Complex Projects) approaches, it won't knock you down. Instead, you can withstand complexities since you've built your knowledge on solid foundations.

However, opting for either of the first two options may leave you vulnerable to being knocked down by the first obstacle that comes your way.

So, which "little pig" are you going to be? Will you invest the time to cultivate your skills, ready to face any coding challenge, or will you acquire superficial knowledge and be overthrown by the first challenge that comes your way?


Thank you for reading this post ๐Ÿ™.

Leave a comment ๐Ÿ“ฉ to let me know what you think.

And Don't forget to Drop a "๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿฆ„๐Ÿ”ฅ".

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Written by

Ndeye Fatou Diop
Ndeye Fatou Diop

Hi there ๐Ÿ‘‹, I have been a Software Engineer for more than five years now. For the past 3-4 years, my focus has been on Frontend Engineering. I share tips to help overwhelmed junior front-end developers navigate their careers and reach the next level.