[changing1999]

The least effective FE engineers I worked with (big tech) are people who learned client-side tech by learning React. They have a very limited understanding of UI concepts and an insufficient attention to detail.

React is arguably more about encapsulation, data flow, and state than about the fundamentals of UI and UX.

[austin-cheney]

Agreed, but employment in software is not about effectiveness. Its about conformity. That is why the decision is a forced dichotomy.

[changing1999]

That's an overly pessimistic view. Both professional and personal growth depend on effectiveness. Even conformity doesn't exclude it. You can conform better by being more effective.

[austin-cheney]

What if instead it were about shifting direction in favor of what is deterministic in response to numeric measures? For example instead of doing what feels comfortable as necessary to lower the perceived cost of hiring/training what if the focus were on building things that execute faster, achieve superior accessibility, or lower the cost to refactor according to automated analysis? Excellence is exclusive to those who wish to achieve it while conformity is the opposite.