C# is Not Front-End

2018-03-26

It irritates me when I'm looking through job listing sites and I see UX/UI or Front-End Developer jobs that require C#.

This tells me either the people who posted the job are non-technical or the company trying to fill the role is looking to pay someone less to do two or three jobs in one. Either way, it's a red flag telling me not to waste my time.

Regularly technical staffing companies will contact me with jobs like this. When I point out that C# is not remotely part of front-end development. They play it off as something I won't be expected to do. Bullshit.

So to clear up confusion here's a simplified overview of the difference between front-end development and back-end programming. It matters because back-end programmers, like C# developers, earn 3 times as much money as front-end developers. If I'm expected to learn and write C# code then I should get paid market rate for it.

Also, most back-end C# programmers do not have to write HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. They are not expected to transform Photoshop files into working web pages and then test them in all the major browsers.

All they do is write business logic and make queries to the database.

Understanding the differences.

Web Browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari can only understand three languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

C# is a programming language that runs on a Microsoft IIS server. C# code never gets sent to your browser. If it did, your browser could not process it and would only display the raw code as text.

Even the Microsoft templating language "Razor" is processed on the server to render it down into HTML, CSS, and JavaScript before it is sent to the browser.

HTML, CSS, and JavaScript are the raw languages of front-end development. Frameworks and libraries like jQuery, Bootstrap, Angular, and React are meant to help front-end developers work faster. They still only render and send HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to the browser. Are you seeing a pattern here?

When I see job offers for "Front-End" that include C#. I assume either the recruiter posting the role is non-technical and doesn't care. Or, the company that created the job offer is trying to hire a front-end developer at a cheaper rate and then what it costs to hire a C# developer and then unrealistically expect them to just "pick it up" as they go along. As if you could just pick up a second language while you're writing a novel.

Development jobs are not like fast food. You cannot "Cross-Train" someone on a programming language like teaching them how to run the drive-through.

People go to 4 years of college to get a degree in programming. They take on $80K+ of debt to learn these skills. If it was easy to pick up in a weekend there wouldn't be a shortage of qualified developers. C# developers wouldn't start out earning $90K+ a year.

If you don't speak Spanish or German. I challenge you to learn it well enough to have conversations and write a novel, over a single weekend. Sounds impossible, because it is.

This is what these job offers look like to trained front-end developers. Companies and recruiters are looking for mythical non-existent "Unicorn" developers. They want people who are smart enough to do two jobs for one salary. But dumb enough to not know they are getting paid a quarter of what a standard C# developer earns.

If your company needs a C# developer then hire one. If you need a front-end developer, stop asking for C# because that is not a front-end skill.

Summary

My issue here is the false advertisement of job requirements. Companies and/or recruiters misrepresent the expectations for the role. Stop looking for a unicorn to save you money. Those people know their worth, are smart enough to see through your bullshit job listing, and won't apply in the first place. The best you'll get with these kinds of posts are the people who are desperate for any job and are willing to lie to you to try and get it.

You'd get better results if you separate these requirements into proper front-end and back-end jobs. Candidates with experience and skills will apply for those jobs. Then you'll end up with a solid developer who will help your company make more money than it costs to pay them.

Treat people right first and then you'll profit.