[throwaway38375]

> but one thing that dissuades me from getting into it is the whole monstrous npm system of components around it.

You are not alone. It is very complicated, but a lot of people seem to get off on the complexity (for some unknown reason).

> Is it not possible to just like include react through CDN with `link` or `script` tags and still make good use of it?

Not with React (as far as I know). But with Vue you can use it straight off a CDN.

Follow this guide through. It take about 15 minutes but it is entirely worth it!

https://v2.vuejs.org/v2/guide/#Getting-Started

> More specifically, I want to know what can I hope to achieve if I migrate from jquery to react?

You can build SPAs (which although not impossible to do in jQuery, is a lot harder). You can also be part of "The React Gang" and get more jobs.

> And to begin with, is this a good idea even?

Not if jQuery is still working for you. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! :)