This time last year, I was hesitant to call myself a front-end developer. What’s changed?

• Using the terminal and using version control (github or SVN) doesn’t scare me.
• I don’t get stuck on basic jQuery errors (update: and I can help co-workers with jQuery problems!).
• I understand when to use if/else statements and for loops better.
• I know how to organize my html/css/javascript files and preview a website in my local browser.
• I use stackoverflow.
• I know how to FTP my files to a server, and how to push small projects to Heroku.
• I use the W3 validator and JSlint to validate my html and javascript.
• I use LESS and Twitter Bootstrap.
• I’ve been to six hackathons, and made friends working in tech
• I’ve realized that compared to some folks I’ve met with actual CS degrees, I’m pretty good at CSS
• I’ve had a lot of practice applying responsive design on almost all of my projects.
• I got over my confusion about how to use APIs at all, and used the Google Maps API, Tumblr API, and Flickr APIs on some projects for the first time.
• I’ve become a lot better at debugging problems, and knowing when to ask for help
• Learning new frameworks or languages has become easier because of the knowledge foundation I’ve built so far.

That said, there’s still a lot more to learn. AngularJS looks formidable. Writing complicated SQL still scares me. I’ve never had to create tables in production before. I haven’t looked into noSQL (mongoDB, etc.) much. I haven’t looked at CS50x, Harvard’s free intro to CS course. I suspect I need more practice writing modular javascript. I know just enough to apply front-end changes to a Ruby on Rails app, but I haven’t taken the leap to really understanding Rails.

To be honest, I’m pretty curious about what this entry will look next year. As long as I continue to enjoy learning web development (and blogging about it), there’s hope yet, I think.