Fullstack developer ·
Needs advice
on
ExpressJSExpressJSLaravelLaravel
and
Spring BootSpring Boot

Hello, I am a fullstack web developer. I have been working for a company with Java/ Spring Boot and client-side JavaScript(mainly jQuery, some AngularJS) for the past 4 years. As I wish to now work as a freelancer, I am faced with a dilemma: which stack to choose given my current knowledge and the state of the market?

I've heard PHP is very popular in the freelance world. I don't know PHP. However, I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to learn since it has many similarities with Java (OOP). It seems to me that Laravel has similarities with Spring Boot (it's MVC and OOP). Also, people say Laravel works well with Vue.js, which is my favorite JS framework.

On the other hand, I already know the Javascript language, and I like Vue.js, so I figure I could go the fullstack Javascript route with ExpressJS. However, I am not sure if these techs are ripe for freelancing (with regards to RAD, stability, reliability, security, costs, etc.) Is it true that Express is almost always used with MongoDB? Because my experience is mostly with SQL databases.

The projects I would like to work on are custom web applications/websites for small businesses. I have developed custom ERPs before and found that Java was a good fit, except for it taking a long time to develop. I cannot make a choice, and I am constantly switching between trying PHP and Node.js/Express. Any real-world advice would be welcome! I would love to find a stack that I enjoy while doing meaningful freelance coding.

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9 upvotes·797.3K views
Replies (10)
Community & Content Operations ·
Recommends
on
Spring Boot

I would definitely recommend you to go with Spring Boot + AngularJS + jQuery. Reasons: 1- You have an experience of 4 years with the above-mentioned stack. 2- As you mentioned that you wish to work as a freelancer, your stack is the perfect one for finding good bids with a little less effort than that of PHP + Laravel + Vue.js.

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5 upvotes·3 comments·726.6K views
Eva Maciejko
Eva Maciejko
·
July 31st 2020 at 6:50PM

Thank you, I appreciate your input on this.

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Alex Spieslechner
Alex Spieslechner
·
July 31st 2020 at 8:53PM

i highly recommend picking anything BUT angularjs. this framework is dead, and no longer active.

same goes for jQuery. this should only be maintained on legacy projects.

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Eva Maciejko
Eva Maciejko
·
July 31st 2020 at 9:53PM

What about Angular ? (https://angular.io/) Doesn't seem dead to me...

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Recommends
on
Spring Boot

Hi Eva, As you have solid experience with Spring already, you should jump into freelancing with that. It would be quite stressful to start freelancing with a tech stack you don't know well. Then in the background you can keep learning/practicing an alternative and switch over when you are confident enough (eg. 0.5-1 year later). I think you should learn Laravel as you already like it and find it easier. Express has better performance but that is not required for most of the small freelancer projects.

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17 upvotes·1 comment·734.9K views
Eva Maciejko
Eva Maciejko
·
July 31st 2020 at 6:50PM

Thank you for your honest advice !

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Avatar of Muhammad Waleed

Muhammad Waleed

Community & Content Operations