The Reality of Frontend Development in India (It's Not Just React)

Bootcamp grads and Self-taught developers expecting easy remote jobs.

P. Mishra — December 2025

The Expectation

I will learn React, build a few clones (Netflix/Spotify), and get hired for 12 LPA. I'll spend my day centering divs and making animations.

The Reality

The 'React Wrapper' era is over. Companies now demand Full Stack capabilities even for frontend roles. AI tools like v0 and Cursor generate UI faster than you can. Your value is now in **State Management, Performance Optimization, and System Design**. If you can't explain how the Virtual DOM works or optimize a re-render cycle, you are unhirable.

Salary & Growth Reality

| Role | Experience | Realistic Content (LPA) | |---|---|---| | Junior React Dev | 0-2 Years | 3.5 - 6.0 | | Senior Frontend | 4-6 Years | 18.0 - 28.0 | | Principal UI Eng | 8+ Years | 45.0+ | Entry level is crushed by supply. Senior level pays hugely but requires deep architecture skills.

Where Most People Get Stuck

The 'Tutorial Hell' Trap. Most juniors can build a To-Do app following a video but cannot debug a race condition in a `useEffect` hook without help. This is where 70% of candidates get rejected.

Who Should Avoid This Path

People who hate debugging logic and think CSS is 'easy'. If you rely entirely on AI to write loops, you will fail the machine coding round.

Final Verdict

Frontend is no longer the 'easy entry' into tech. You must be a Software Engineer first, a React developer second. Learn TypeScript and Server Components or perish.

                Last Updated: December 2025
            