I struggle a lot with labels and job descriptions.
I’ve worked in this field for over a decade, and I still get lost when trying to categorize myself or assign a job title. The worst moments? Adding myself to the company website or printing business cards—I never know what to put that actually describes what I do.
These labels can be useful, sure. They help people on the outside understand roughly what someone does. But from the inside, it’s rarely that simple. Being a developer isn’t a binary situation. It’s not black or white. It’s all shades of grey—fluid, shifting, evolving.
I’m usually described as a full-stack web developer. And yes, I can recreate pixel-perfect UI elements, set up API services, manage CI/CD pipelines, and sketch out the architecture of a scalable app. I’ve been called software developer, software engineer, tech guy—you name it. But in truth, I just work on web apps and try to be useful to my team.
We’re a small team, so everyone has to chip in. I might spend one morning fixing a UI bug and the afternoon debugging a deployment issue. I might spend weeks building microservices or working deep in the backend. That’s just how things go.
So what does that make me? A jack of all trades, master of none? Maybe. But I’ve come to see that as a strength. I’ve always thrived in environments where everyone has specialties, but no one is locked into a silo. It keeps the brain sharp. It forces flexibility. You get used to jumping between domains, resetting your focus, and solving problems from a fresh perspective. It makes you a better developer.
Over time, I’ve leaned into this. I’m often the first to jump on a task I don’t fully understand—especially the ones outside my comfort zone. It hasn’t always been easy. It clashes with my impostor syndrome. But it’s been the clearest path to growth. I’ve made this mindset a core part of how I work. Send me an issue—any issue—and I’ll figure it out. Language, framework, context—I'll get there.
Everything I’ve achieved in my career stems from this.
I started out as a WordPress dev straight out of uni. I didn’t know WordPress. I barely knew what it meant to work as a dev. But I learned. I picked up SEO, internet marketing, backend development. I moved on to custom PHP frameworks, dove into MySQL. Switched to React. Picked up AWS, CraftCMS, 11ty. With every step, I stayed curious. Every time I started from zero, it felt like day one of school—but I never doubted I’d grow into it. The road has been long and winding. I don’t know what’s coming next. Mobile dev? ML? Some new framework? Maybe. But here’s what I’ve figured out:
Labels are fine—just don’t let them define you.
If the job title is full-stack developer, great. But that’s not the limit of what I do, or who I am. I’ll always approach my work with curiosity. I’ll explore new areas. I’ll dive deeper where needed. I’ll keep evolving—for myself, my growth, and my team.
Let the labels help others understand me. But I won’t let them limit me.