Never Thought I Could Do It

That’s right. I never thought I would be able to carry out a bold goal: becoming a full-stack developer. Let alone land a job without any prior backend experience. Or do you count making API calls from the frontend… exposure? I’m just thinking out loud.

Basically, that is what I was, just a frontend developer. I knew that there was more I wanted to do, to build more than what users see. It wasn’t always that way. I just need a push.

Leaving Frontend Behind

While I was job hunting for an entry-level, junior frontend role, I noticed that a lot of these open positions were “lowkey” asking for a full-stack developer; they just hid behind the title.

I kept seeing more and more of these kinds of job posts that made me realise that actually, there are a whole lot more entry-level backend positions that are available. If not those, full-stack developers also had a handful of jobs.

Something in me realised that there is indeed an advantage to not only mastering one field; two makes my chances of landing a job even better! I thought that maybe after Strapi, I would work as a junior frontend dev, be comfortable with it and all.

After 2 or 3 years, then venture into backend development. Pleased to say that things didn’t go according to plan.

Afraid of Being Uncomfortable

A week into my new role, I am panicking!

As nice and quiet as it is, I will have to do some tasks here, eventually, that I “asked” for. I got this job because I wanted the exposure and the growth to become full-stack.

In the first days, I volunteered to take some tasks from our backlog. You guessed it…. They were frontend 😂. And I was quick with it too. I also volunteered because, let’s be honest, have you ever met a software engineer (cough, backend) who likes to deal with the frontend? CSS? Scary stuff.

And it went like that until the 3rd sprint (2 weeks makes up a sprint). My first one-on-one with my manager came up, and we talked about how I am still picking up what I am “used” to instead of allowing myself to be uncomfortable. The reasons were many, but one stood out: I am afraid of not completing a task, not understanding and jumping into what I do not know.

How can I grow when I cannot allow myself to grow?

He helped me see that not knowing something is the greatest learning opportunity. To see it as a positive thing. The team is here to help. That he will help me. And he held up to his words because the next sprint was the most stressful sprint of my life.

Getting Into Backend

“API integration with a third-party provider.” I don’t even remember how many story points I assigned myself. I didn’t choose the task. It was given to me… as a push. I remember I spent every hour at work and even at home learning and upskilling in C#, ASP.NET, and Dapper. Ohh, the stress. I had no idea what to do or where to begin.

Of course, I did reach out for help. I received it. Did I understand it? No 😂

I was so afraid of asking for help, again…and again… and again. I just didn’t want to come across as a wasted hire, if I can say that. Everyone – I mean, everyone in my team – they are full-stack. I was the only one, me, just frontend; I just felt so… isolated.

To complete the task, I had to ask for help. Held by the hand. See how already-existing API implementations were done and hope for the best.

Safe to say that that was the beginning of growth.

Being Comfortable

To the point where I would take up more backend-related tasks. You name it, creating stored procedures or any DB-related work. Setting up microservice repos for our API projects. Taking up defect tickets. I’ve grown to love debugging. I never thought I’d like it so. It’s frustrating for sure, but figuring things out and making them work – no feeling is greater than that.

I am so confident in my acquired skill that I am able to help out others. Even if I don’t know the full scope of the issue, I know where to start. I can say since March of last year, I have not touched any JS or CSS. Just C# and the whole .NET gang. Well, until a month ago.

This is not to say that I am 100% comfortable. Or I am? The point is, there is doubt. There is a lot I do not know. There is a lot I am yet to – not master but to get used to, if you get what I mean.

All I can say now is that I am at a better confidence level today than I was when I started here.

Being a Junior Full-Stack Dev

It feels great to type that, to say it out loud! I am a full-stack developer. I have grown to love C# as a programming language. I love OOP because of it. It is awesome; it is pleasant; it’s so great. I think I have a thing for Cs 👀 (cough…. CSS).

Apart from reaching my goal, being a junior, regardless, has been a learning journey. I have come to accept that it’s okay to not know. No shame in “I do not know”, “I do not understand”, or “I know I asked, but please say that again.”

I was uncomfortable. Today, I am still uncomfortable, but I can now reach out for help with better communication on what I am struggling with and what I’ve tried and what kind of help I need and not the fear of “looking stupid”.

I’ve learnt a lot from reading and reviewing code. Seeing how other people tackle their problems, their thought process, has aided my growth. I’ve also learnt that the best way for me to learn something new, whether a new technology or language, is to just jump right in, build and Google what I don’t know along the way.

I’ve grown not only technically but also in soft skills and in trusting myself to do the work.

The End

For you… but a continuation for me.

I am happy that I kept my word. That I gave myself the career that I wanted, even when I had doubts about my own journey. There is a whole new world of backend development that I do not know, just as there is with frontend too.

It’s safe to say that there is not a chance that I will ever be bored with coding and building really cool stuff with my skill.

Eventually, once I am comfortable with being a full-stack developer, I cannot wait to go back to being a developer advocate. That is one of my favourite but daunting jobs I’ve ever done. Daunting because I really struggle with social anxiety, but for a career, I’ll happily be an extrovert for it 😂.

I’ll share the REST (pun intended) of that chapter when we get there.