Cloud Developer (Azure) vs Front End Developer?

[PapaAquaWet]

I'm going to study 2 year in programming and I'm unsure what to choose. The educations I'm choosing between are one called "Front End Developer" and "Cloud Developer (Azure)". Azure are more popular in my country than AWS since most companies are centered around the Microsoft products; AD, AAD, Office 365 according to a consultant.

Here's the courses in the included in these two educations:

Cloud Developer (Azure) course content:

• Basic Concepts in Object-Oriented Programming

• Programming Language C# & Visual Studio

• Object-Oriented Analysis & Modeling with UML

• APIs and their structure

• The .NET Platform & .NET Core

• Application Development in C# .NET

• HTML5, CSS3 & Fundamentals of JavaScript

• Frameworks (React/Angular) & Web Security

• Azure Platform and Portal & Azure App Services

• Automating Azure with Azure CLI

• Cloud Databases & Cloud Storage

• Development Models: Waterfall, Agile, DevOps

• ASP.NET Core & Service Fabric

Front End Developer course content:

• Web Development: Frontend

• Basic JavaScript Programming

• Web Communication

• User Experience and Interaction Design

• Web Frameworks for JavaScript

• Agile Project Methodology

• Advanced Web Development with JavaScript

• Packaging, Delivery, and Follow-up

• Specialization: Frontend, UX/UI

 

From seeing these courses, what do you think are the benefits and disadvantages between these educations? I'm especially thinking about from stress, work life balance, amount of jobs etc.

[Slottr]

Far more jobs in cloud computing. You’ll receive a likely fuller and more applicable education going into that rather than front end.

 

if the other option was full stack I would maybe consider it, but if it’s just front end you’re looking at a significantly shorter road of opportunity 

[PapaAquaWet]

Ok thank you  I was 90% sure to go cloud computing since it sounded to me too like there would be more jobs for cloud computing than Front End only.

[manikyath]

you're essentially asking if you should become a painter or a carpenter. the question isnt which one is best, the question is what you'd rather be doing the rest of your life.

 

having that said.. with 6(?) years of history in the IT space, some insights:

46 minutes ago, PapaAquaWet said:

stress

depends on what kind of stress.. for cloud developer you'll probably end up towards a more "structured" system, less annoying calls with needy customers, but you'll end up "at the mercy of the machine" by a far bigger degree. if microsoft decides to turn a new direction, you either follow or perish, even if you dislike this new direction.

hence my recent exit from IT...

 

49 minutes ago, PapaAquaWet said:

work life balance

again... depends on what you look for. cloud developers usually end up in 9-5 jobs, perhaps the occasion deployment weekend or office party, but mostly structure.

the frontend people usually run weird hours, and have "waves" of work as customers come up with silly projects or changes. but quite often the businesses that sit in this space have far more leniency with working hours on the quiet times which is a bonus for the private life too.

 

51 minutes ago, PapaAquaWet said:

amount of jobs

this is a very "momentary" thing. there'll always be a need for people able to make a customer-facing application really shine. (templates exist, AI isnt coming for your job, the crap that AI can poop out already exists in pre-made cookie cutter templates... making something truly fit for the job is a highly desirable skill though.)

on the flip side.. there'll always be a need for people maintaining the backend. (AI isnt coming for your job.. because you make the AI run, so to speak.)

 

---

 

IMO it comes down to one simple question: do you prefer a structured system with very defined rules, or do you prefer colouring outside the lines?

it doesnt matter what is "the better job" on paper, if it is a job you will hate with every bone in your body.

(again, hence my recent exit from IT.)

[PapaAquaWet]

Wow thanks for the detailed answer! Defined rules sounds a little better on the paper for me. You seem to have some experience in cloud computing if I understand it right? What type of cloud job (Azure) do you think is the best one to have in your opinion?

[manikyath]

1 hour ago, PapaAquaWet said:

Wow thanks for the detailed answer! Defined rules sounds a little better on the paper for me. You seem to have some experience in cloud computing if I understand it right? What type of cloud job (Azure) do you think is the best one to have in your opinion?

Manager.

 

i've never quite seen someone get paid that much to be a sack of potatoes in a meeting than management for a team of azure cloud folks.

 

but on a real note.. you wont survive a year in IT not doing what you enjoy doing. the best job is what suits you best. if the "hooray blank canvas" of frontend development isnt your cup of tea.. out of the two proposed options going cloud is the better option. you'll figure out what exact path you want to travel by the time you come out the other end of your education. that's the thing with career choices.. they're choices.

[PapaAquaWet]

Frontend, backend and cloud all sounds interesting too me. Like you say I will probably learn more in the future and find out what I prefer more. There's so many educations and different types of jobs in the programming field and for someone with little to non experience, it's hard to understand all the differences between them. I mean it's not like the word surgeon that anyone can instantly recognize and understand what they do on a daily basis.

 

In worst case scenario perhaps I maybe can still search for jobs outside of cloud if I read the 2 year Azure education. Maybe I just think too much and should just pick Azure lol. I thanked yes to Cloud Developer (Azure) but got a mail today that I was also admitted to Front End Developer which is why I'm thinking about which one to study. I have an appeal in 8 hours for Cloud Developer so maybe I have a chance to talk to a teacher on the zoom call aswell and hear what they think. 

[Tanks]

On 8/9/2023 at 1:51 PM, Slottr said:

Far more jobs in cloud computing. You’ll receive a likely fuller and more applicable education going into that rather than front end.

 

if the other option was full stack I would maybe consider it, but if it’s just front end you’re looking at a significantly shorter road of opportunity 

This is short and to the point but true, depending on where you want to go I would not really focus on a front-end-only program. 
There is still a LOT of advantage to full-stack skills in the cloud era. 

I run 3 distinct development teams (Finops, Web and integration, and devops teams) so I may be a bit biased but the front end only seems way light on skills I would care about. 

 

[elryry]

There are a lot of silly answers in this thread. You have to start somewhere, and the best place to start is with a smaller focus (such as front-end developer). Learn front-end, get a job and grow your skills.

 

The "cloud developer" criteria listed in the original post is boiling the ocean in terms of learning. Most large organizations have very few jobs that I would consider cloud native engineering and their jobs are to make it so that other engineers don't mess things up.

 

To master what's listed under the Azure cloud developer curriculum takes work experience.

[venomtail]

Cloud developer seems like a more complete course, more difficult as well without the theory if that makes sense? Sounds more like practical work than possible exams, yet more specialized while front end is general universal knowledge of what front end is like.

 

On 8/9/2023 at 7:29 PM, PapaAquaWet said:

From seeing these courses, what do you think are the benefits and disadvantages between these educations? I'm especially thinking about from stress, work life balance, amount of jobs etc.

Stress: Will entirely come wrong the place you work and if you can handle whats expected. Sometimes bosses expect too much.

Work life balance: Entirely up to you and your relationship with your job. Your choice to work 14h a day only eating pot noodles or leaving on time, exactly on the minute, only answering work calls whilst at work.

Amount of jobs: When you have 0 experience, 0 jobs. When you'll get even just a few years under your belt the doors never stop opening. Uphill battle to get in first will be difficult. The industry is very reluctant to invest into new talent, rather propose x2 salary for someone to leave their company for yours.

[Woddell]

Stress, work-life balance are going to differ by workplace rather than the profession. Amount of jobs will mostly be down to where you live so check job boards in your area. You'll probably find more front-end roles since front-end is a more generic term than Azure.

 

I'd pick Azure as it's more niche/specialized and they offer certifications and there's far more content available online for frontend if you decide to pick that up separetly (Learning Azure in your own time might be expensive) 

[wasab]

Pick the cloud, it seems to prepare you for full stack 

[Bigsmiles]

All things being equal always pick whatever option puts you farther away from the clients, so cloud(?)
But on a more serious note the list of courses for the Frontend looks at least superficially "thinner" that the other one, maybe its just a naming issue.