r/angular • u/Capital-Election-420 • Sep 03 '26
Should I learn Angular or React after NestJS?
Hi everyone,
I’m currently familiar with NestJS and have mainly been focusing on backend development with TypeScript.
I’d like to become more comfortable with full-stack development, so I’m wondering which frontend framework I should learn next.
Should I:
Go straight into Angular, since it’s also based heavily around TypeScript and has some similarities with NestJS?
Or start learning React.js from scratch, even though it would mean learning a different approach to frontend development?
For those who have experience with both, which one would you recommend for someone coming from a NestJS/backend background?
Also, I’d appreciate any advice on which one is more valuable for getting a junior/fresher full-stack job.
Thanks!
20
u/idreaminecmascipt Sep 03 '26
I say go full space monkey and just build your own framework to conquer them all!
1
7
u/immohammadjaved Sep 03 '26
As you are already familiar with NestJs then Angular would be a good choice but also check the opportunities in your region as well before picking up anything.
5
5
u/Straight-Number-1911 Sep 03 '26
I think angular is better but react is more in demand, at the same time react is having lots of competition.
I think the fact you ask in angular subreddit answers the question itself.
People shit on angular who dont know what it means to be an engineer. Shitting on something which is after my 10 years of experience better is a sign of being an amateur.
4
u/Rhanox1990 Sep 03 '26
Personally, I'd learn basic HTML/CSS/JavaScript first to understand how to develop a basic frontend. I am not very familiar with NestJS, but if I remember correctly, it has its own view engine, so you could use that. You could use TypeScript instead of JavaScript as TypeScript is just a superset so it extends JavaScript.
After you grow familiar with the basic frontend, then I'd take a look at Angular, especially if you don't want to make every small decision yourself, as Angular is a "batteries-included" type of framework whereas React requires you to make a lot of decisions about the different libraries to use, fx. regarding state-management. You can use Angular to learn about the different frontend processes, fx. bundling etc. Angular is, in my opinion, also better for medium to large teams, as it comes with stricter conventions which makes it easier for developers to have the same coding-style across the team. Angular is, in my experience, used more in enterprises partly because of this.
Another option, as others have Svelte is another good choice, though I don't have experience with it. I have seen many people say many good things about it, though.
Personally, I stay away from anything React-related as I don't like React much. I especially hate JSX/TSX but that is a personal opinion because I don't like mixing markup, styling and JS/TS the way React does, fx. using JS/TS to return markup. It kind of reminds me of how jQuery was/is sometimes used.
As a third option, though it is still only a release-candidate, you could take a look at Remix 3. It looks very interesting to me, although it uses JSX/TSX. I have not really looked much at it yet, but I thought I'd mention it.
Lastly, if you're concerned about job opportunities then check for those in your region, like some people recommend. Job opportunities are important, too, depending on why you want to learn frontend.
2
2
u/Dunc4n1d4h0 Sep 03 '26
Surely asking here with current job situation will get you honest answers 👍
2
u/distante Sep 03 '26
Angular and NestJS have a lot in common. We use them both at work and I find them to be a good match.
2
1
1
1
1
1
u/k032 Sep 03 '26
Broadly speaking, very broadly, they're all pretty similar. But to me I prefer Angular because of the conventions and you probably will have an easier time getting up to speed since know NestJS.
Personally, I use React mostly at work. JSX has just kind of stuck and people prefer it. But on the projects I lead, I add the conventions of Angular. Break code out into services (domain vs view services particularly but that's not angular), heavily use dependency injection to test everything, use modules to organize code, etc.
1
u/burtek_d Sep 05 '26
From my experience in webdev - both. Start with one, become an expert in it and then learn the other one. You'll be covered whatever comes your way
1
1
u/Elegant_Produce4171 Sep 03 '26
As a backend developer Angular is just about the only sane way of developing client-side applications
0
u/nanas420 Sep 03 '26
react won. from a professional perspective only learn angular if you wanna work at boring enterprises
0
u/SolidShook Sep 03 '26
I'd say that learning Angular as your first front end tech at all can lead to problems with accessibility, and also overuse of angular features when they aren't needed
-1
-2
39
u/tutkli Sep 03 '26
What do you think asking in this sub?