Choosing Next JS as my JavaScript Framework of Choice
JavaScript has really overtaken my C# .Net tutoring in terms of my revenue since 2019. I am on the lookout for a well-managed (JavaScript) framework, and I have chosen Next.JS.
When I switched from my post-mba career in sales to become a IT related work guy in 2012, I immediately started with .NET and C#. I like visual studio (the purple one) as an IDE. Microsoft has always been excellent with the developer documentation. Also, 2012 was the time when they were really going all in on the cloud and Windows Phone, which helped me quickly start working and begin making money.
As my career has grown and evolved, a few things have changed. For one thing, it seems that the number of opportunities available for C# .NET has reduced.
Further, especially within India, the demand for .NET is all those legacy software developments that the westerners no longer want to do. This means, an inflexible marriage to 90s style coding with SQL and Angular JS.
I am neither a fan of SQL or Angular JS. When the day comes when there is a noose around me, and if that noose can only be removed via SQL and Angular JS, only then will I learn these two things.
Even Microsoft appears to have taken a hint. This explains their move away from dot net on windows to making all their windows stuff available on Mac/Linux and open sourcing so many, many things and completely getting out of the WPF and Windows Phone mess.
Like Sun Tzu says, if the enemy is too strong, no shame in fleeing. I took a hint too and started improving my JavaScript skills and some limited learning with HTML and CSS (I absolutely don’t enjoy working on CSS). I am glad I did because, life has continued happily with earnings from JavaScript.
That’s a lot of preambles. But anybody is still reading my blog posts, you know my style by now.
Having accumulated ample experience, clients, and income from JavaScript projects, I am contemplating expanding into back-end development tutoring. Currently, I offer tutoring in the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which has proven to be quite successful.
At the end of the training, I teach my students some basic React web apps and basic node JS api building and then send them off. Very basic stuff, and available here on my GitHub.
nothing fancy. Just, very simple stuff to cap off the training. I tell them, from now on they can self-learn or simply find another tutor to teach them any of the dozens of frameworks and libraries that overpopulate the JS landscape.
Still, I always had this nagging excitement to acquire some back end skills in JS. I mean, if the student is learning C#, I teach the basics (like I do with JS). and then, I continue and also teach the student how to build web apis, authentication servers, web apps, deployment.
The whole thing.
And, of course, prior to my 2021 retirement from developer work, I used to make plenty of money as a freelance contract developer. So, I do have substantial back-end API server development skills and experience. I wanted to put this experience to the JS side of things as well.
You can see how full and overflowing my C Sharp repo for students is on my GitHub account. Again, I have made plenty of money with .NET.
So, I was waiting for the right moment till my JS skills reach a certain maturity, along with my JS tutoring skills, to pick up a framework to experiment an explore. This search has been happening since 2020. Now, 4 years later, I know and have understood a few things.
- the JS landscape is filled with libraries and libraries and frameworks and frameworks. It’s a real mess.
- Every brand, every open-source community, tutorials and books and videos have their own strong opinions about what they like and what they don’t like.
- We are spoilt with choice, which is not always a good thing.
For me, going back all those years in 2012, .NET attracted me because of it’ simplicity with its approach to technology. Most of what I wanted to do with .NET as a developer and as a tutor, is already provided for by Microsoft. Things don’t frequently go out of support and the documentation is endlessly and constantly updated. And, if a product or service or library is being retired, that is announced in advanced, and support continues for years.
In 2024, after all these years, you can still continue to work and make money with WPF. Something that died all the way back in 2015 if you ask me.
So, I searched and searched and found a few options.
- You can simply use Express JS along with Node JS and build your web api. (this also means, you are endless wrangling with libraries that come and go from different corners of the internet)
- Strapi seems like a cool library. It seems to focus exclusively on CMS, which might not be what my students want.
- Next JS was the third option.
I eventually ended up choosing Next JS and finally begin my coding journey with their official tutorials. Just last night, I finished the quick brief course on React JS. I have some exposure to React (although the JSX sentence still takes some getting used to).
Ultimately I liked Next JS for the following reasons.
- It seems like a decent outfit, reminds me of Microsoft a lot in terms of documentation and developer communication.
- It’s a full solution, similar to .NET, in that everything I need (learning, libraries, deployment) is available from a single brand/company.
- As an added bonus, I also get to improve my React JS skills. Of all the UI libraries, I dislike React the least.
- It combines back end and front end, very similar to what .NET does with API and Razor Pages. So, I will feel right at home.
As I wrap up this really lengthy post, I do not know where this will take me. I am perfectly happy — personally and revenue wise — with my current JS situation.
Still, knowing at least one framework can be useful in the coming years, and worth investing my time and money.
Hire me at UpWork or Fiverr or codementor or GitHub. more about me on my personal profile, and also on my personal website.
