Should frontend learn CS?

This topic has been debated for quite some time, so I’d like to briefly share my thoughts.

Back in the days when only HTML and CSS existed, and maybe jQuery at most, simply deploying a static webpage to FTP could earn you the title of an expert.

As browsers have evolved and can now do much more, the scope of front-end development has expanded significantly. Just the term "front-end" could encompass multiple branches:

• UI: Focused on user experience, this includes API state handling, data processing, user experience design, accessibility (a11y), and appropriate animation interactions.
• Multimedia: Services that emphasize audio, video, and live streaming require not only a good grasp of UI but also some understanding of the decoding and transmission behind multimedia.
• Data Flow / Front-End Engineering: Mastery of tool frameworks, along with a solid understanding of business requirements and domain knowledge.
• Data Visualization / Storytelling: This area demands familiarity with chart libraries or D3, as well as an awareness of browser limitations for displaying charts—knowing when to use Canvas, SVG, or WebGL. Additionally, some storytelling skills are necessary to avoid creating flashy charts that fail to engage users.
• Architecture: This includes front-end deployment, logging, underlying frameworks, standards, API management, and state management. This area requires experience and a solid background in computer science to support it.
• Gaming: Telling stories through games or simply entertaining, this involves game theory and differs significantly from standard development approaches.
• Conceptual Flow: Frameworks like Vue, React, and Svelte fundamentally change how developers perceive front-end development, focusing directly on concepts like components and the Virtual DOM.

A UI created by a developer with a computer science background may not necessarily be better than one made by a front-end engineer without that background. Instead of focusing solely on algorithms, it may be more beneficial to delve into a11y and UI, which can have a greater positive impact on society.

Few can specialize in all these areas; if someone mastered them all, they wouldn’t just identify as a front-end developer—they’d be considered a Software Engineer. Such individuals are rare and there’s no need for everyone to become a jack-of-all-trades.

From this perspective, emphasizing algorithms and computer science backgrounds without considering a company’s conditions and needs is just nonsense; often, it reflects a lazy hiring mindset.

To echo a well-known saying, the key is still your goals and the person you aspire to become.