My developer goals for 2021
Tags: mernstack, tailwindcss, react, webdev
Published: 2021-03-15 18:07:14

---
title: My developer goals for 2021
published: true
date: 2021-03-15 17:48:59 UTC
tags: MERNStack,TailwindCSS,React,WebDevelopment
canonical_url: https://blog.iamsondre.net/my-developer-goals-for-2021
---

My [last post](https://dev.to/sondre/my-journey-to-becoming-a-web-developer-11pk) was supposed to be about my goals, but I more or less wrote about my journey up until this point.

I want to become a full-stack developer and to get there, I need to set some goals and reach them! And 3 months of 2021 have already gone by, so I'm a little late for setting my goals.

At this time, I feel pretty confident in writing HTML and CSS, and I have a basic understanding of Javascript but that's about it. So I thought I should write about my goals for 2021 as a developer, and my goals are:

- Learn a CSS framework
- JavaScript
- Learn a JavaScript framework
- Learn backend
- Start writing
- Start applying for jobs as a full-stack developer

### Learn a CSS framework

Well, I first had to choose a CSS framework that works for me. And since I already was familiar with Bootstrap, I knew that's not what I wanted. I felt that Bootstrap would be overkill for my needs.

**My criteria for choosing a CSS framework was:**

1. Not a steep learning curve
2. No huge .css file, or unnecessary CSS
3. Easy to work with and customize

I had to do some research and it came down to [Pure CSS](https://purecss.io/), [Tailwind CSS](https://tailwindcss.com/), and [Milligram](https://milligram.io/), I believe it was.

Out of those three, I went with Tailwind CSS. There were a lot of mixed feelings about Tailwind on Twitter, YouTube, and other communities. So naturally, I was very skeptical. It was so many classes and code in the HTML and it seemed like it wasn't worth it.

[Tailwind Labs](https://blog.tailwindcss.com/tailwindcss-from-zero-to-production) and [Simon Vrachliotis](https://twitter.com/simonswiss) released series on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elgqxmdVms8&list=PL5f_mz_zU5eXWYDXHUDOLBE0scnuJofO0&index=1) called "Tailwind: From zero to production", _that teaches you everything you need to know to get up and running with Tailwind CSS v2.0 from scratch._

After watching that series, I was sold!

And when following along with the courses I'm taking, I use Tailwind CSS to get some practice with it. I feel that I've come along way with Tailwind in a short amount of time.

### JavaScript

I have some basic knowledge of JavaScript. But JavaScript is like Math to me, if I don't use it I lose it. So I need to keep continuing learning and using JS regularly.

I will use [Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/), [freeCodeCamp](freecodecamp.org/), Youtube, and [Code Wars](https://www.codewars.com/)

### Learn a JavaScript framework

This was an easy choice for me. It had to be [React](https://reactjs.org/). But why? The main reason for choosing React was that both courses i am taking on [Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/) have sections on React. And after watching the series by [Tailwind](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elgqxmdVms8&list=PL5f_mz_zU5eXWYDXHUDOLBE0scnuJofO0&index=1) I had seen how easy it was to use Tailwind and React together.

I have just started learning React, and I really enjoy it. And I can't wait until I start making projects with it!

### Learning the backend

Since I've already decided to go with React, the [MERN-stack](https://www.mongodb.com/mern-stack) seemed like a no-brainer. ![mern_logo.png](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1615830439688/3xoqwX0QX.png)

And that's MongoDB, Express and Nodejs.

I haven't started learning the backend yet. I've just dipped my toes in it.

### Start writing

I wasn't sure if I really wanted to do this. Because I feel like I don't have anything to share, and my knowledge is minimal. I made all these excuses in my head of why I shouldn't start writing. But I came to the conclusion that all my excuses were ridiculous, and I just have to start!

Well, I have started, now I just have to start writing frequently.

### Summary

This year I will learn Tailwind CSS, Javascript, MongoDB, Express, React, Node and start applying for jobs as a full-stack developer.

**What are your goals for 2021?**



Resources:_1. Photo by [Glenn Carstens-Peters](https://unsplash.com/@glenncarstenspeters?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)_