Episode 87: Flying Solo on the Front End of Despair

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The focus of today's episode is the tricky role of a solo front-end developer, and we kick things off by sharing some of the experiences we have had working in this configuration. This is a plain and simple show today, without any guests, and our panel gets into some thoughts on the links between front-end dev work and specialization, learning through negative feedback, and the many different levels of accessibility. The conversation also covers how to go about solving problems that reach beyond your scope, and why this can be so hard without a team focusing on the front-end. The consensus seems to be that there is a definite trade-off when working alone versus joining forces and that both scenarios have their advantages. To end things off for today's chat we share a few picks, from TV shows and DIY decor to a new YouTube personality who Tessa thinks is worth checking out! Join us to hear all.

Key Points From This Episode:

• The panel's experiences of working as a lone front-end developer on a team.
• Front-end development and specialization; we explore how the two are linked.
• Bad programming habits and learning what not to do on the job.
• The importance of accessibility and the time that goes into the different levels.
• Thoughts on solving new, unknown problems with no one else on your team.
• Finding answers to problems in the treacherous waters of Twitter!
• Issues with trackpads, mice, scrollbars, and different browsers.
• Difficulties with asking the right questions; fear of embarrassment and a lack of vocabulary.
• The kind of learning and knowledge accumulation that suits a solo front-end developer.
• Final thoughts on the challenges and requirements for working alone on front-end dev.
• This week's picks! Peet Montzingo, googly eyes, and Maid.

Tweetables:

“Even if you know CSS, I think it's not really something that you can show or that people are necessarily looking for.” — Tessa [0:08:11]

“You can learn a lot about how to do things by learning how not to do things.” — Alex [0:13:56]

“It has been tremendously helpful to have all of the resources I've gained through the people that I've interacted with on the show.” — @GloomyLumi [0:28:18]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

• Grid Critters, Dave Geddes
• Flexbox Zombies, Dave Geddes
• CSS Grid, Wes Bos
• Vue roving tab index
• The Manager’s Path, Camille Fournier
• The Backstage Handbook
• Be Here Now, Ram Dass

This Weeks Picks:

• Alex
  • Googly eyes
• Ari
  • Maid, Netflix (Limited Series)
• Tessa
  • Peet Montzingo, YouTube

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