Everything is online these days — and so is everyone!

Moreover, ever since the infamous pandemic happened, those things/ services or even people who were not using the online platforms/ channels have joined the club.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the internet has now not only simplified the online interaction between people but has also provided relied-upon sources for all kinds of information/ assistance along with the tremendous number of services one could ever think of. Oh, and let’s not forget the ease of paying bills online and the love for online shopping!

But what makes these services/ products so simple and readily available? Yes, the businesses and organisations did take every single advantage of the conveniences of the internet and mobile computing; it’s the set of engineering minds that made it possible in the first place.

And no wonder, today, software development or application development is one of the highest paying jobs across the world — and one of the most popular remote jobs as well.

But as cushy as it sounds, it’s one of the most complex and attention required roles — and, definitely, is not meant to be done by one single person. Below mentioned are the majorly know different types of software developers:

• Front End Developers
• Back End Developers
• Application Developers
• Mobile App Developers
• Data Scientist
• Systems Developers
• API Developers
• Embedded Systems Developers
• Security Software Developers
• Cloud Computing Developers

What is a Front End Developer?

Front end developers are generally responsible for the design and implementation of the user interface. They also ensure that the website’s appearance and design created by the web designers work perfectly for the users. In simple terms, front end developers are responsible for the parts of a website or application that users see and interact with — they focus on site-functioning while ensuring that it’s easy to navigate and appealing to audiences’ eyes.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Front End Developer

Below mentioned are some major responsibilities bore by front end developers:

• Finalising the web page designs and structures
• Developing features to enhance user experience
• Employing a diverse selection of markup languages to design web pages
• Keeping the brand consist throughout the whole design
• Building reusable codes for future use
• Ensuring the web pages are optimised for best speed and scalability
• Striking a balance between functional and aesthetic design
• Ensuring the web design is responsive

Technical Skills Required

While some organisations do not demand a degree, it’s always helpful to have one in computer science. Other than that, it also depends on the organisations — while some may want the applicant to be aware of design tools or video editing, others might expect to know Ruby or Git. However, the following would be the most common and most demanded skills that one should master to get a remote job.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language, aka HTML, is something web pages cannot exist without. Things to learn under this:

• HTML elements
• HTML attributes
• Web design
• Start tags
• End tags
• Responsive
• Web page graphics
• HTML headings
• Element content

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets, aka CSS, adds style to HTML, i.e., it beautifies the site. With the recent versions of CSS, it’s not hard to learn and adapt to this skill. Things to learn under this:

• CSS syntax
• CSS frameworks
• Declaration block
• Selector block
• Stylus
• Bootstrap
• Foundation
• Responsive design
• Precompilers/ preprocessors

JavaScript

JavaScript, aka JS, can be used for both front end and back end development. It’s a language that powers more than 94.8% of websites on the internet. It is important to learn JS while doing front end development as it makes the web pages interactive. Things to learn under this:

• JS libraries
• JS objects
• JS strings
• JS arrays
• JS numbers
• JS variables
• JS functions
• Backbone.js
• Angular.js

Other than these, you may consider learning the following skills to get some add-ons on your portfolio:

• Inline style
• Debugging
• Version control
• Command lines
• Website testing
• Cascading order
• Automation tools
• CSS preprocessing
• Browser developer tools
• WordPress theme creation
• Search Engine Optimization aka SEO
• Using JS to change HTML content

Soft Skills Required to Become a Front End Developer

Once you are done with learning HTML, CSS & JS, there are other few more factors that you would need to consider.

Keep enhancing your skills with some open-source projects. You may also consider joining any coding bootcamp or can reach out to a mentor or consider taking up an online course; there are tons of resources available online. And once you get a hold of it, keep practising — you will learn something new every time. And yes, do stay updated with the trends and recent developments.

Self-requirement is also an important factor in becoming a reliable front end developer. These additional skills will further help you in grabbing a remote job:

• Global thinking
• Attention to detail
• Workflow Efficiency
• Focus and accuracy
• Creativity and curiosity
• Constant improvement
• Time management skills
• Fluency in coding languages
• Great communication skills
• Ability to work independently

While you can master the technical skills, it takes time and experience to adapt the soft skills, and it does happen after several projects and learnings.

It is recommended to start with an internship or a junior developer role as it helps you in learning and practising a lot, and you are constantly surrounded by senior developers who help you in every path. The pay will obviously be less, but you would be learning from more experienced people. 

Over time you may also take up some freelance projects or consulting jobs to learn and experiment more. And it will also help you in building an impressive portfolio.

Future of Front End Developers

There is, undoubtedly, a huge demand for web developers. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, web development provided employment to 174,300 developers in the US alone. The average salary for web developers is $73,760 annually, roughly $35.46/hour.

And 2020 created more remote jobs in the development sector more than ever!

Top Places To Find Remote Jobs

A lot of people complain that they often fail to find a ‘real’ remote front end job but, actually, it’s all over the internet; you just need to tap on to the right URLs.

Moreover, a lot of times, good companies fail to find reliable developers either because of the location or because of improper screening.

These are some of the trustworthy websites that help you in finding the remote front end jobs:

• Authentic Jobs
• WeWorkRemotely
• GitHub Jobs
• Turing
• VueJobs
• RemoteLeads
• AngelList

Bonus Tip: Do Not Give Up!

Learning a new skill and preparing for a job could be tiring; it may take days or even weeks to find your dream job, and it could get exhausting along the way. But, remember, nothing comes easy, and those that take time would get you immense satisfaction and a sense of achievement!

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