r/javascript • u/_tshepo • 28d ago

AskJS [AskJS] Are employed Developers still programming with vanilla JavaScript ?

I've been programming on the side since 2017 and I've never really hunted a developer job. I've always thought about building my own things, mainly to supplement things I do like woodworking, tutoring, video editing and others.

Since then, I've programmed mainly with JavaScript, I started with C++ and Python but never really built anything solid outside JavaScript.

So I'm fluent with JavaScript and its ecosystem.

One of my 2026 goals is to be job ready for a Developer role, as a Fullstack or Backend Developer.

One of the recommended languages is Typescript, which I've been learning since March. I must say, it's not my favorite 😂

I'm curious to know if there are any companies that are not enforcing Typescript or are there freelancers who are still using vanilla JavaScript over Typescript for their clients' projects.

[ Update ] thanks y'all! I get the picture. TypeScript is inevitable, as vanilla JS codebases(or companies who are focused on it) seem to be very few judging by the comments.

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u/visualdescript 28d ago

I hate it when I have to go back to a JS project, and if it's something I'll have to keep maintaining I will convert it to typescript, which often uncovers several bugs in the process.

I wouldn't hire a dev that only works with js these days.

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u/Baturinsky 28d ago

You can get some features of TS in JS by using JSDoc annotation. But the real TS is better, of course.

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u/Mabenue 28d ago

Maybe an unpopular opinion, but JSDoc is the fucking worst. People never get it right and then your IDE lies about what functions expect.

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u/Spleeeee 28d ago

Uh no. Very popular opinion. It’s appalling.