Why don't back end developers make portfolios?

Question

I run a site where developers can share their portfolios. Right now it has about 220 portfolios, but only 2&ndash;4 are from backend developers.That surprised me. Frontend developers often show off their skills with nice-looking websites. But backend developers usually work on APIs, databases, and infrastructure, which is harder to show in a portfolio. Maybe that is why so few make one.Still, I would think more backend developers would put together a personal site, even just a blog or a simple project. Instead, most seem to skip it entirely.Do backend developers just not see the point of having a portfolio? Or is there another reason?

marssaxman · Accepted Answer

Developers in general do not have and are not expected to have portfolios, though some people treat their github account that way. It's just never been a thing. Frontend developers are the exception, presumably because the work they do is so closely tied to graphic design.

JohnFen · Answer

I have maintained a portfolio for decades, as have most of my colleagues. I don't put it online, though, because I don't see an advantage in me doing so (but I can totally see others could get an advantage doing so). I provide that portfolio to others personally when I'm selling myself in some way (job interview, wooing investors, etc.).But I'm old and most of my colleagues are within a decade or so of me. I wonder if there's been a generational change. Maybe this used to be a common thing and just isn't so much anymore?

netcoyote · Answer

I joke about this with other folks:- artist: look at my pictures- sound engineer: listen to this intro- UI engineer: check out this screenshotMe (a backend engineer): look at these numbers. See how the one one the left goes up faster than the one on the right? That was a year of my life.

MattGaiser · Answer

Mostly I am pitching to some HR person or even if the person is a dev, they have never been all that curious or interested in doing a deep dive. There simply isn't really an equivalent to "nice looking" for backend.