A day in the life of a front-end developer

Whether you’re interested in coding or you're deciding what kind of developer you want to be, you might have wondered how a workday of a front-end developer looks like. Every job has some air of mystery to it. I, for example, am always interested in what people do for a living and what their workday entails. That's exactly why I'm giving you a look behind the curtain into a typical day of a front-end developer at Endare.

Morning

I have to be honest, I'm not really a morning person. However, some good music while driving to the office always makes my morning feel less like I need a 4-year vacation. When I arrive, still humming the last song I heard, I’m ready to start a new working day.

As a developer, your morning routine will probably consist of starting up your computer, getting a cup of tea or coffee, and thinking about the issue you discovered yesterday while testing the application you are currently working on. Mine is no different and you could say, it’s not very adventurous. The fun part, however, is that every application you create will be used by a lot of people. So every line of code you write, adds to the user experience of someone you don’t know. That is why I feel like giving every project the best I can.

Stand-up

An important part of every project is the daily stand-up when you get together with the entire project team. Of course, these meetings are now primarily held online, but that doesn't change their informal and relaxed nature. Before the pandemic, these stand-ups were literally stand-ups, a get together in order to facilitate communication. The purpose of these stand-ups is to share updates with your colleagues about what you accomplished the day before and what your planning for the current day looks like. It is also a moment to discuss issues you’re stuck on, to ask for ideas or help. Everyone is ready to support, and these daily stand-ups are the perfect moment to tackle problems.

After approximately 10 minutes, the stand-up is over and it’s time to resume doing what you love, coding. Fixing bugs one by one or creating new features described in the tickets means you’re constantly adding value to the solution you're working on. You have the urge to make the client and the clients’ users satisfied, so, at least in my case, time flies writing code. Before you know it’s time to have lunch with your colleagues.

Lunch and Tech talk

Every few weeks, right after lunch, a colleague presents some new technology or experience he or she had during one of his or her projects. Today was one of those days. The subject? ML kit. A package that brings Google’s machine learning to your application. After a small demo of object detection and facial recognition, I really couldn't wait to try it out myself. And that is exactly the point of these tech-talks. You learn new things and get inspired to experiment with new technologies or features. In that way, everyone is up to date about what their team members are working on, and you can extend your knowledge.

Afternoon

As the day goes by, the results of your next level coding become more clear. You test and improve your code. Your afternoon will often mainly consist of just that. Obviously, since that's your job. But sometimes you also have meetings with the client or additional meetings with the project team. On those days, your smartwatch is not just reminding you to move your lazy ass, but to be on time for your meeting as well.

Additional meetings with the project team involve all kinds of topics. Ranging from architectural questions to UI related details. Even the next meal is often discussed. At Endare, we value cooperation. That’s why we plan these meetings whenever the team needs to brainstorm ideas or discuss some issues in more detail.

4 o’clock

It’s 4 o’clock, which means the Endare family gets together for a 5-minute break to eat a snack or some fruit for those who desire something more healthy. These kinds of breaks are perfect to reconnect with all the colleagues and for clearing the ram of your brain.

Going back home

I end my day by cooking one of the dishes Hello Fresh delivered yesterday evening. While following the recipe, I listen to one of my favourite tech podcasts. Somehow this feels like coding, putting your heart in something you love with an amazing (and tasteful) result!