How do you balance your front-end skills with other competencies?

I have started my job as a backend developer with Laravel for API building only. at that time I was expertizing the best backend practices like microservice architecture and managing multitenancy. But When I was a student I had good skills in HTML, CSS, and javascript. After I worked two years as a backend I changed my position to be a full-stack developer. for the backend role, my previous experience helped me a lot. for the front-end, I have practiced the framework with tutorials but my previous experience in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript has played a great role in adapting simply, To be a front-end developer HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are basic. before you practice any frontend framework you have to be sure you are good at HTML.

Every front-end developer should at least know how to architect a full software application. They should learn at least, a backend framework, know about APIs, and also learn how to deploy an application to the cloud. This will help you become a well-rounded developer and also marketable in today's competitive industry. With constant practice and developing side projects, you will be able to balance the other skills that complement your front-end skills.

I started my career as a frontend developer, but to seize broader opportunities, I sought to deepen my knowledge in backend development, software architecture, design patterns, and more. I believe that every developer should balance their skills to be well-prepared for any challenge they may encounter.

Dedicating specific time each week to learn and practice new skills. This could include setting aside a few hours for online courses, tutorials, or personal projects.

The balancing act primarily depends on an individual's passion and demands around the passion. It is really important you have a wide spectrum of skills in your expertise. This will give you a different perspective in life / career and swiftly move around when the demand changes. For example, a backend developer with some sort passion / taste towards front end skills make him a better developer because he understands the cohesive picture. Thanks

Balancing my skills is creating a personal development plan. This plan outlines my current skillset, my desired skills, and a timeline for achieving them.

Know where your interests lie and what opportunities exist at work. Where those match is the sweet spot. Start learning about those things. When an opportunity appears at work to develop those interests, you're ready to go. Forget about YouTube and tutorials. They're almost always worthless. It's almost always better to just buy a book to gain some very deep knowledge on a subject. Tutorials are almost always surface level. For example, very few developers know how to optimize SQL queries. Learn how and you can look like a rock star. It's not even a difficult topic. Everything cam be derived from how indexing works. Imagine improving DB performance, allowing the company to scale down and save tons of money, improve UX, etc.

I was a front-end developer long before I ever became a back-end developer. I started my back-end journey most prominently in my mind from the time I got a book on NodeJS. Before I got this book I really wanted to start contributing to the back-end of my company's code-base. After digging into the book and finding motivation to continue learning I was finally able to make headway into becoming a back-end developer. I had very helpful coworkers that helped me start back-end development. I took courses from Udemy, read blogs, and documentation on NodeJS, and finally I felt comfortable enough with back-end. Some advice: get a little excited about the learning process, pace yourself, have fun, and read and learn from a wide variety of sources.

If you are a front-end developer, you can obviously expand your scope to a few backend languages / frameworks, such as NodeJs, PHP/Laravel. Then, you will find it is handy to learn some database development/ designing principles and eventually continue on the Full-Stack route. You can even learn about software security, cloud infrastructure (e.g. Azure/ AWS) development, a bit of networking/ agile development/ CI-CD and continue on the DevOps route. Furthermore, learning about project management, software architecting, agile methodologies, design/ development patterns on top of what you have already learned will put you on the Tech Lead/ Development Manager route. In the end it is up to the developer to pursue their passions 😊

Frontend devs have exciting choices either dive deep into core concepts to be an HTML/CSS/JS wizard, master animations & performance optimization. Or explore different fields like, 1) Back-end: Power up with Python or Node.js to build APIs and servers. 2) Frameworks: React Native for mobile, Vue.js for single-page apps. 3) UX/UI: Craft pixel-perfect interfaces with design principles. 4) Cloud infrastructures (eg: AWS/Azure) 5) Project Management Here is how to keep it steady and balanced: 1) Learn through articles, tutorials, and mini-projects. 2) Build for fun and let your creativity flow. 3) Connect with devs online and in person. It's a marathon, not a sprint. Take breaks, celebrate wins, and enjoy the journey.

Leadership skills are also valuable, regardless of whether you are a junior developer or a Lead Senior Staff Architect. Leadership is having initiative, learning how to listen, building relationships, among other things. These are the skills that make you a valuable member of a team

When I am becoming tired or losing steam, I take time off to relax and do other activities. That way, I am able to continue with renewed energy. It may be more valuable to work on a task 2 hours per day for 60 days than 8 hours once a month. Consistency with lesser time a day pays off than devoting longer hours in a day which can easily lead to burn out.

Pay attention to your body - it's the best alarm to automatically let you know when to adjust your behavior. Stress, irritability, inability to focus, lack of interest in daily activities - back off and allow yourself to relax. Attention to your own attitude and behavior, and understanding the signals your body produces will ultimately improve productivity. Working less may seem counter productive, but continuing to work under high stress often produces poor performance at best, and tons of extra work for yourself and others at worst.

Find experts on the topics you're interested in and follow them where ever you usually look for content. YouTube, Twitter, podcasts, whatever. Interested in Vue? Follow the core team. TypeScript? Matt Pocock and Gabrial Vergnaud. Those people have a vested interest in helping you understand their product/expertise. Since you already consume content, theirs will automatically show up in front of you. Watch who they interact with to find more interesting people. And please, please, when a hiring manager asks how you keep up with the ever changing industry, don't ask them if they pay for you to learn new stuff. It's your career. It's your fault if your skills become irrelevant. Just tell them the aforementioned stuff and you're golden.

Staying current with design principles, collaborating closely with backend teams, and understanding user experience. Also focus on optimizing performance and accessibility, ensuring that work aligns with both technical and business goals.

I personally found the following behaviors helped me to gain an enormous knowledge in the software engineering field. 1). Always look for ways to improve yourself. 2). Pick your curry - There are a ton of things to learn in IT and unfortunately the time is limited. So pick your curry wisely 😉 3). Challenge yourself and don't be shy to come out of your comfort zone. I hope this helps 🙏