Chasing the hype

Updated: Jan 25, 2023

“There is no such thing as normal. Things change. People adapt. Everything is relative to everything else… There is no definitive list of skills to have. There is no mandatory technologies to look for. You don’t have to keep chasing the hype. At the end of the day, knowing HTML, CSS and some JavaScript should be enough to make do.“

There is no normal by Hugo Giraudel really resonated with me.

For too long I felt I had to learn a JavaScript framework like React, because it’s what was expected of me. When all your LinkedIn messages are from recruiters looking for a React developer, it starts to feel like the only way to make it is to get on board.

So I tried it for a while and now I know enough to build a site with Gatsby, or whatever. But that’s probably as far as I’ll take it. The thing is, I just don’t love writing React.

In actual fact, I much prefer writing HTML, CSS and JavaScript the “traditional” way. So that’s what I spend the majority of my time doing. But it took a while to feel comfortable with that, because in the back of you’re mind you’re always thinking…

“If I want to get anywhere as a web developer I really need to learn framework X”.

Listen. You really don’t need to learn any frameworks to be a great developer.

It’s perfectly ok to follow your interests and ignore what’s hot. There’s still plenty of work out there that doesn’t involve React or getting hired via LinkedIn for that matter.

Just do good work and stop chasing the hype.


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