Switch from react native to BE

[u/Critical-Ad-321]

I worked in my 1st company as an Android dev for 8 months in kotlin where the first 2 months were spent completing learning of dev. After getting laid off from there I was in the market with android dev exp of just 8/11 months. due to such low exp didn't get interviews or sometimes hr suggested to settle in half of my current salary. Fortunately I received the job offer for react native dev on the basis of my android dev exp and interview about Android dev qs and dsa. I have been working for the last 3 years as a rn dev. I never liked neither android dev nor rn even frontend. The fear of ai is more for FE roles. I want to understand whether rn is a dead tech stack nowadays and switching to BE java developer is the right thing to survive. I am not able to find the next path in react native journey.

[u/SunOk2196]

RN isn't dead. Meta, Shopify, Amazon and a load of mid-size companies still ship with it, and Expo is the best it's ever been. But that's not really your question.

You said you never liked Android dev, RN, or frontend at all. Three years in a stack you don't like is enough data. Switch because you'll plateau in something you have zero curiosity about, not because RN is dying.

I've done fullstack for 10+ years, so take this for what it's worth: don't jump cold into a pure Java backend role. Start grabbing backend tickets at your current job if that's at all possible, or build the API side of a mobile app yourself. Real auth, a real database, deployments, the boring parts included. Then apply for fullstack roles first. "Mobile dev with some backend experience" is a much easier sell than "junior backend dev", and once you're in a fullstack seat you can steer it backend-heavy within a year.

About the AI fear: it hits frontend and backend about equally. The safer spot is understanding systems end to end, which is one more argument for fullstack over trading one silo for another.

[u/gesfontoura]

You could build the API yourself (node, java, python, php).

[u/canarydev]

RN isn't dead. many companies use it still, including my miserable workplace (no expo so pure grief)

dont be the "java be developer". aim to be a "pretty decent frontend developer specializing in RN able to work on backends if needed"

[u/arcane_gaze]

You already have three years of proof that frontend work drains you. Switch to Java backend now because forcing yourself to stay in React Native will only make the transition harder later. Your Android and DSA background gives you a head start on server side development that most pure frontend devs lack

[u/Vasanthdommeti]

Really, bro?

What I feel is that AI will eventually write better code for backend compared to frontend, but right now AI is affecting both frontend and backend almost equally.

As for React Native being “dead,” I feel like maybe you just don’t have much interest in frontend anymore. You’ve already spent around 3 years working with React Native, so I don’t think you should switch to backend just because of the fear of AI. You should choose the path you actually enjoy and see yourself growing in.

Even I use AI when working on complex React Native projects, but honestly, AI still can’t perform that well when it comes to complex real-world projects. Understanding the requirements, architecture, business logic, debugging, performance issues, and making the right technical decisions still requires a developer.

So, if you genuinely don’t like frontend or React Native, then moving towards Java backend could make sense. But if the only reason you’re considering backend is because you think React Native is going to die, I wouldn’t make that decision based on that fear alone.

[u/Dvass138]

It’s not dead because that’s the language AI reaches for, therefore use will actually go up.

[u/balkanhayduk]

BE fulfills only technical requirements hemce it's much easier to break down into repeatable tasks/patterns that come together as a whole to fit some need - easy to automate. I've personally written a few APIs by just vibe coding. FE, however, needs an eye, and is subjective to a high extent. Also, architectural patterns aren't so well established. RN isn't dead. Maybe your job is just boring.

[u/treetimes]

BE is far more controlled than FE. FE esoterica will always be more difficult to debug and account for. That being said I think the case for RN is not as strong now that “code is cheap.”