I barely write React code at work

My title at work is Web Engineer, and our frontend consists of multiple React apps. And yet, I haven’t written much React code over the last few months. Most of the new code I’ve written is in Java, and IntelliJ has become my primary IDE. Many of my peers at work are surprised when I tell them I’m not a Backend Engineer. How did this happen?

Looking back, I’ve always been pulled into backend code. I was hired to join a newly created team that didn’t initially have a dedicated backend person, but we still had to ship features—many of which involved making changes to the backend system, like adding new fields in the protobuf data model, updating mapping and validation logic, and so on. Nothing fancy, but still. Even after a couple of Backend Engineers joined the team, I continued to take on these tasks because, well, we could ship faster that way.

Without a strong background in Java or backend development in general, I’ve made my share of mistakes along the way—and yes, I definitely broke the Spotify Ad Manager app that one time (um, maybe more). Thankfully, I was allowed to keep contributing to our backend system, and there was no shortage of opportunities to do so, since many of the new workstreams coming our way have been more backend-oriented in recent months. Over time, the experience and knowledge I’ve gained empowered me to start navigating—and even leading—backend projects with more confidence.

Outside of work, I’m still more interested in the web frontend ecosystem. Frontend web is my home, and there’s just more stuff going on here! At work, however, I no longer feel tied to being a Web Engineer. My focus is on getting thing done, and if me picking up more backend tickets helps, I’ll happily oblige.