web dev for the win!
Why is web development right as a career choice?
One of the most frequent questions that I come across on social media platforms always brings me back to square one. Is web development a safe career option? There are multiple queries that lead to this one question, and today, I am going to solve all those queries leading you to the ultimate answer.
Will automation kill web development?
No, and yes. Let me explain it to you.
There are multiple site generators available today - Wix, WordPress, Webflow, etc. Do companies like Google, Flipkart, and Microsoft do not know about these tools? Then why are they spending money hiring web developers, even giving out lakhs and lakhs to freshers? This is because you can create microsoft.com, a marketing website on Wix or WordPress but you cannot create Microsoft Teams using them. And that is the difference you need to understand, the difference between web apps and websites. Gmail and Outlook are examples of web apps, which are high-functioning complex products that need human intelligence for their development. No site generator can build them for you. If you search the top 10 jobs/skills on any hiring platform, you will always find it full of web developers, JavaScript developers, TypeScript developers, and so on. Rest assured that web development is not going anywhere and you will not lose your job to automation if you are a highly skilled web dev.
But why did I reply "yes" to the above question as well? Site generators are great for building marketing pages, small websites, or at most, websites with small functions here and there. They are mainly used by marketers to create a landing page. So, in case you are a web developer who mainly puts up blogs or websites and sells them to people, automation is going to take your job away, and that is not a situation you want to be in.
Is web development really the future?
All your new apps, Figma, Microsoft Teams, Slack, even VS Code, are desktop apps made using web technologies. Today, code editors, collab tools, design tools, etc. are all written in web. In fact, even mobile apps are built using react native.
You need to understand that the internet works on mainly 3 platforms - web, windows, and android. Anything on the web is obviously built using web technologies. Windows aggressively mines PWAs, progressive "web" apps and stores it on the Windows store. If truth be told, Microsoft is working hard and completely invested in react native web. Noticed it? React Native "Web". Google is also pushing the frontiers of PWAs, and when big companies like Microsoft and Google come to play, the ecosystem changes. Every tech giant today is invested and interested in the web, which ensures that the web is not going anywhere and is here to stay for a very long period of time.
But why web development and web development only?
Because WORA, you just write once and run anywhere. In fact, this is a new phenomenon in the industry that has almost uprooted all the previous practices.
Because the web is suitable for agile development and DevOps. The CI/CD pipeline is also much easier for a web app than a desktop app or a mobile app.
Because there are no gatekeepers to the web, which makes the process of delivery to the customer faster and much more satisfactory. And when you get to the business side of things, customer satisfaction is what leads to the generation of revenue.
If these reasons are still not good enough for you, let me tell you that even internally in Microsoft, C++ developers with 7-8 years of experience are getting trained in web technologies. The tech world needs web developers now more than ever because companies need and want really great web devs.
Thoughts to leave you with (till we meet again)
Web development is the present and the future, there is absolutely no denying it. That is why I always recommend every fresher that comes to me for advice to start their career with web development. Web dev is here to stay, and so will you.
If this article wasn't enough to answer questions, you can listen to my podcast, where I talk about the same subject in a lot more detail: https://anchor.fm/tanaypratap/episodes/Is-web-development-saferight-as-a-career-choice-edf35k
Turning the table
I know I am the one who answers your questions, but this time, I have 2 questions for you all. To simplify the process, I am giving you options, you just have to choose one, and you can mention the reason behind your choice as well.
Why, do you think, is making a career choice so difficult?
Availability of too many options
No clear guidance is available
Others (it will be great if you specify!)
What would you prefer me to take up as future topics?
Keep it technical, Tanay.
I love it when I can relate to your personal stories. Do continue those!
I have an idea. I am sharing it with you (through email replies or in the comments).
And on a finally final note, if you like what I write about, subscribe to the newsletter and share it with your friends. I love reading your feedback and it helps me curate my content better to suit your needs.
No clear guidance from good source. Believing a person is a huge deal. Someone saying "react sekho bahut scope aur paisa hoga " is good but why to believe that person. I'm not saying web dev is bad but I was at first not ready to accept this then started seeing ur videos and acknowledged ur advice.
Personal stories and technical stuff both are great for me
Though I am a CS student, I feel career choice or change becomes difficult due a mixture of both - confusion between the endless choices as well as lack of clear guidance and direction on any of those options.
On future topics, in my opinion, it would be best you write on whatever you have been thinking about during the week.
Lastly, loads of love and respect for what you are doing!