I give this an 8 instead of a 10 because in hindsight, while I am extremely happy with the platform and the things I've learned through my exposure to it, I also see so many areas for improvement in the outcome of my efforts.
My advice to front end developers working with Hybris and/or the Java stack for the first time, is to not be intimidated by it. Question everything. Trust your intuition. Do not be afraid to refactor or completely replace something that appears integral to the platform if you see a clear benefit to doing so. It's much less far reaching than you think and the core system will not come crumbling to its knees if you make broad sweeping alterations. In fact, the energy you will expend to retool your site with a new framework will grow in tandem with the amount of time you spend hesitating, and at some point may become critical enough to force your hand while simultaneously becoming risky enough to destabilize your entire project delivery. If you don't like JQuery UI, punt it. If you don't care for the Blueprint CSS framework, burn it down. Making the strategic decision to adopt the toolset that best fits your organization from the very beginning will pay off in spades.
