Confused between Java and Front End Developer for Job Switch

[marcus waugh]

Hello All ,

Let me first give my background regarding job . I passed out from college in 2005 in San Francisco (SFO) and started working as Java/J2EE developer in a major organization for 6 years . I worked on all major technologies/framework in Java which included Struts/Springs as well as Hibernate . I loved every minute of writing code in Java/J2ee . This also included exposure to Database SQL queries . In a way this way complete learning curve for end to end Software development cycle ,right from requirement gathering to Production support . I need to admit though that I never aspired to go to management side and wanted to write code , when opportunity was presented.

Then in 2011, I got an opportunity to work for a major overhaul of our website in Front End Web development in same organization .

This plan included changing the website for responsiveness for desktops/mobile/tablets/phablets which also included awesome work on accessibility (ARIA-ADA) by completely redesigning website for people with disability .
We used HTMl/CSS and YUI/Jquery framework . It was awesome work and thoroughly enjoyed the Front end work as I came to learn not only about HTML ,CSS of JavaScript frameworks but came to know about browser compatibility, CDN server,
web accessibility, performance on front end and so on .

Now , I am looking for a change in Job . But now I have a big dilemma . I am in love with both Back end (Java/J2EE) and Front end (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) development. I am unable to decide for which jobs should I apply here in SFO.

Now it has been 3 years since I have written Java code. It will take 2-3 months to brush up Java skills and be ready for Java interviews here in SFO .There are equally good opportunities for Java as well as Front end (plus I have advantage as I have worked on accessibility in front end) .

I am not able to decide which stream out of this two have more advantage in future. Also it is hard to switch between these two streams as I found out because Java is Object Oriented but JavaScript is Procedural language.

I am pretty sure there are many experienced Ranchers who have worked on both of these streams . I would like to hear your personal choice between this two and reasons if possible.

Please consider this as a humble request from a developer who is unable to decide between Java and JavaScript language as he loves both of them.

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Marcus,
I just want to mention that "Springs" is not a thing. The technology is "Spring." (You might want to check your resume to make sure the typo isn't there - it is a common one)

Both front end and back end are interesting. Which one to work on is a personal preference. Neither is inherently better or worse. I think you'll have more success finding a front end job since that is what you've been doing the last three years. Or a job that has both. In a smaller company, you could do both front and back end tasks on a project. That might make you happier.

Another alternative is to look for a job where the testing of your front end is done in another language. That would let you work with Java or Ruby (or something else) in addition to JavaScript/CSS/etc.