Let’s define “the hard way” first.
Not:
- Watching a 6-hour tutorial at 1.5× speed
- Copy-pasting code until it works
- Asking AI to “fix this” without reading the output
By the hard way, people usually mean:
- Vanilla JavaScript
- No frameworks at first
- Understanding what actually happens under the hood
So… in 2026, with AI copilots and frameworks everywhere:
Is that still necessary — or just gatekeeping with extra steps?
The tempting shortcut
A junior dev today can:
- Build a React app in an afternoon
- Deploy to the cloud without touching a server
- Generate code faster than they can read it
Honestly? That’s amazing.
But there’s a catch.
When something breaks — and it will — the question becomes:
Do you understand JavaScript… or just the framework?
What “learning the hard way” actually gives you
Learning JavaScript fundamentals isn’t about suffering.
It’s about control.
If you understand:
- Closures
- Scope & hoisting
- this (yes, unfortunately)
- The event loop
- Async behavior beyond “just use async/await”
You stop being surprised by bugs.
You don’t panic when:
- State updates behave weirdly
- Performance tanks for no obvious reason
- Something works locally but fails in production You debug instead of guess.
Frameworks don’t replace fundamentals
Frameworks change.
JavaScript doesn’t (well… not that much).
The React you learn today won’t look the same in 3–4 years.
The JavaScript concepts underneath? Still there.
If you skip the fundamentals:
- Every new framework feels like starting over
- You rely heavily on Stack Overflow and AI
- Debugging feels like superstition
If you learn them:
- New tools feel familiar
- You adapt faster
- You write simpler, cleaner code The real problem with “the hard way”
The issue isn’t learning JavaScript fundamentals.
It’s how we teach them.
Endless for loops and contrived examples don’t help anyone.
Nobody gets excited by:
let sum = 0;
for (let i = 0; i < arr.length; i++) {
sum += arr[i];
}
What does help?
- Small real-world projects
- Breaking things on purpose
- Seeing how raw JS powers actual apps
Hard doesn’t mean boring.
Hard means intentional.
So… should juniors still do it?
Yes — but not forever, and not alone.
A good path in 2026 looks like this:
- Learn core JavaScript concepts
- Build small things without frameworks
- Then earn the abstractions
Skipping fundamentals entirely is risky.
Living in “vanilla JS only” land forever is pointless.
Balance matters.
Final take
JavaScript isn’t the hard part.
Understanding it is.
And that understanding pays off every single time:
- When frameworks change
- When AI gets it wrong
- When production is on fire and you’re the one fixing it
So yes — junior developers should still learn JavaScript the hard way.
Just not the stupid way.
Top comments (83)
There is a quick and dirty way to learn it: give them an actual project (not a client one, a learning one) and prohibit them from using coding agents for anything else than explanation and snippets.
They will fail a LOT, which is the point. This type of failure builds experience, expands understanding and enforces architectural thinking.
So yeah, totally agree. Learn the hard way, it's extremely beneficial.
And never learn in a vacuum! They need to learn to seek out senior developers for questions. Like face to face. That senior needs to be able to identify that the person in front of them is on a learning journey, so face to face explanation is what they need. Never do the work for them, but pose thinking questions to assist in the thought progression.
Absolutely agree — real learning happens when developers struggle through real problems, not when tools abstract them away. Purposeful failure builds intuition, architectural judgment, and the kind of experience no AI shortcut can replace.
Once again, you’ve hit the proverbial nail on the head, Art. In this era of AI-first development - driven as much by marketing and FOMO as by real utility - it’s more important than ever to remind beginner and junior developers that fundamentals should come first.
AI absolutely has its place. However, while senior developers have the experience to use it as a force multiplier, those just starting out often lack the context needed to spot the hallucinations and subtle errors that AI-based tools can introduce.
The same principle applies to learning JavaScript. Frameworks can boost productivity, but without a solid grasp of plain JavaScript, they become a crutch rather than a tool.
Really well said — this hits a point that doesn’t get emphasized enough. AI and frameworks are incredibly powerful, but without strong fundamentals they can quietly slow growth instead of accelerating it. I’m especially interested in how we can help juniors build that core knowledge first, so these tools become leverage, not a dependency.
I think a big part of it is intentional sequencing. Teaching fundamentals first - things like data flow, basic architecture, and problem-solving - before introducing heavy abstractions helps juniors build a mental model of how things actually work.
AI and frameworks can then be introduced as layers on top of that foundation: tools to inspect, question, and refactor rather than accept blindly. Framing them as something to learn with (and sometimes without) goes a long way toward making them leverage instead of a dependency.
This is a really solid take, and I like how you emphasize intentional sequencing rather than just piling on tools. Starting with fundamentals gives juniors a clear mental model, which makes everything that comes later far less magical and confusing. Once that foundation is in place, AI and frameworks feel like amplifiers, not crutches. I especially agree with framing them as tools to question and refine ideas instead of blindly trusting the output. This kind of approach sets developers up to grow confidently instead of becoming dependent on abstractions too early.
Yes, Art. I think for junior developers, or anyone early in their coding journey, the simplest way to think about it is that there really aren’t any shortcuts - at least not ones that don’t come with trade-offs or problems later on.
Absolutely, that’s such a wise perspective! 👏 Your approach really shows patience and foresight, and it’s inspiring for anyone starting out to see someone emphasize learning deeply rather than rushing.
This is an amazing article and I am pretty sure many devs could relate to this even the senior ones.
Learning should be done the hard way be it for Javascript or any other framework. Using AI to enhance our learning process but sticking to the old way of learning would pay off in longer run.
Absolutely! 🙌 I love how you highlighted the balance between traditional learning and using AI as a tool — that mindset will definitely pay off and make any developer stronger in the long run. Keep sharing these insights!
It's not a question about JS. It's a common question about any coding skill in the current AI era.
You should always be able to understand, review, and take over AI-generated code, so you must learn JS in the "hard" way first.
Well said, Arc. One of the first Python books I learned from was Learn Python the Hard Way. You don’t just type code - you add comments to show you understand it, and build programs step by step, making sure you actually get it. If you’re not a visual learner, it’s a really effective way to pick up Python.
Absolutely—“Learn Python the Hard Way” trains not just your hands but your mind, forcing you to internalize each concept rather than just copy-pasting. That disciplined approach is what turns beginners into confident, self-sufficient Python developers.
Absolutely, you’re spot on! 💪 Mastering the fundamentals the hard way builds the kind of deep understanding that makes AI a true ally rather than a crutch—really smart approach.
There are no short cuts in technology, AI chat bot can produce a starter code that is good enough to confuse any junior (and sometimes even seniors), so best to do the first steps in the traditional way. Never skip the deep dive in purpose, syntax, exercises in Java script, because later when you use any other wrapper tool (that internally uses Java script) and you shall see an error message related to Java script, you would thank yourself for having gone through Java script or any language thoroughly earlier; at the same time, you would be able to appreciate how much time that wrapper tool saves by helping you avoid the boiler plate Java script code - there are many such tools, I am just giving an inference.
Having said that, a balance is needed in learning else it becomes very defeating / boring, so must do side projects to test the language, learn the suitability of when to use when :-)
Thanks for the article.
Also, I wrote an article about Junior developers specifically - feel free to have a look at it and share any feedback (in case) - dev.to/shitij_bhatnagar_b6d1be72/d...
Really solid take — I completely agree that there are no real shortcuts in tech, especially when it comes to fundamentals. AI tools can definitely generate convincing starter code, but without a deep understanding of JavaScript, it’s easy for juniors (and even seniors) to get stuck or misled when things break. I like your point about learning JS properly first, because that foundation is exactly what makes wrapper tools powerful instead of confusing. At the same time, I’m with you that balance matters — side projects are what keep learning practical and fun instead of overwhelming. Thanks for the article, and I’ll definitely check out your piece on junior developers and share my thoughts.
Learning JavaScript is an absolute must. If you don't know JavaScript you can't call yourself a frontend developer.
Absolutely agree — JavaScript is the backbone of modern frontend development, and mastering it opens the door to everything else. Having a strong JS foundation really shows you take your craft seriously and sets you up for long-term growth. 💪
You're absolutely right.
Learning JavaScript the hard way still matters — and not only for juniors.
It’s true for every language we use, and honestly, it’s something even senior developers shouldn’t skip.
Absolutely — that’s a great point, and it shows real depth of experience.
That mindset is what keeps developers sharp over time and prevents fundamentals from quietly eroding as tools evolve.
Junior web developers should also learn TypeScript, CSS, and HTML basics hands-on before adding frameworks and AI assistants.
Absolutely—strong fundamentals in TypeScript, CSS, and HTML give junior developers the mental model to understand what frameworks and AI tools are actually doing, instead of using them as black boxes. That foundation pays off in better debugging, cleaner architecture, and long-term growth.
Great post, I've seen junior devs get so caught up in framework hype they lose sight of the basics. But when debugging issues, it's closures and event loops that save my bacon, not some fancy AI tool. Don't get me wrong, those tools are helpful, but understanding the fundamentals is still the key to true mastery.
Great insight — this really resonates with what I’ve seen too. It’s easy to get distracted by shiny frameworks and tools, but when things break, it’s always the fundamentals that do the heavy lifting. I’ve had the same experience where core concepts like closures or the event loop make all the difference during real debugging sessions.
yes.
😎
To be honest, that's the only reply needed!
✌
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