Our generation is blessed to witness the evolution of the internet from just a craze to people’s primary source of income. It can be said that we are surrounded by technology that is shaping our future and this future is tech-driven.
To satisfy the growing need for online presence and help millions of users who are making their first click on the internet, different applications like websites, web pages, apps etc has to be developed. Everything we interact electronically is thousands of code lines written by developers.
The tech industry is rapidly evolving and all-rounded professionals are needed who are adept in various aspects of web development i.e., both front-end development and back-end development and not just either front-end or back-end alone. Here the Full Stack Developers make a grand entry. They are available and work through from the product design phase to its final launch.
To make a web application run as desired, the full stack developers bridge the gap between the client and the server software.
Who is a Full Stack Developer?
A stack is defined as the following step-by-step process:
- The various applications communicating with each other
- Different programs working together for taking a request from a user’s browser or mobile phone.
- All the APIs, servers and databases interacting with one another to respond to the request.
A Full Stack Engineer is a software developer who is an expert in front-end and back-end coding development. These engineers do the following tasks:
- Writing code for user’s front-end mobile or web applications.
- Develop API code.
- Write Server code.
- Connect and communicate with databases.
The front-end or client-side development deals with the aspects of an application that are visible to the user and can interact with. The back-end or server-side refers to the servers, databases, browsers, business logic and software that support the user application from behind the scenes.
They are the experts in different layers of software development and have the practical knowledge and ability to take a concept from scratch into a finished product.
Responsibilities
Full Stack Developers are responsible for following:
- Support the development actions from conceptualization of project to its launch.
- Prototype and build applications and websites.
- Designing of user experiences along with development of front end interfaces.
- Administration of databases and servers.
- Tuning of projects after customer feedback.
- Collaboration with other developers, UX designers, external suppliers, Sales department for execution and improvement of projects.
- Advising and recommending tradeoffs between development features such as speed, cost, reliability and functionality.
- Researching and implementing about the latest industry trends and developments in digital technologies.
- Be comfortable working with different programming languages and technologies for development of websites, web pages and computer programs.
- Conversion of web design elements into executable codes.
- For a web product, coding its server-side elements.
Required Education
- Complete an undergraduate course in majors like:
- Computer Sciences, Computer or software engineering.
- Civil, Electrical and Mechanical engineering
- IT or system administration.
- Completion of coding boot camp programs.
- Full Stack Aspirants can be self-taught through online courses, books, tutorials and learning platforms like Udemy, Khans Academy, free code camp etc.
Technical Skills
To become a successful full stack developer, the aspirants should be expert in both the front-end and back-end skills listed below:
- Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and Cascade Style Sheet (CSS)
- Java Script
- Git and Git Hub
- Popular Back end Scripting Language called PHP.
- Java
- Python
- SQL
- jQuery
- Bootstrap etc
Top Job Roles for Full Stack Developers
Full Stack Development is a versatile field which makes it easy to find a job as these professionals are most-sought after by employers. The top careers for these developers are:
- Full Stack Developer
- Front-End Developer
- Back-End Developer
- Web Designer
- Web Developer
Salary and Career Prospects
The average salary of these professionals in 2020 was reported as $91, 123 per year. The salary is dependent on experience, company and location. Yearly Bonuses and regular raises based on performance can be expected depending on the company.
Full Stack Development is a growing, popular and promising career option for professionals in software development. According to Hacker Rank’s 2020 report, full-stack developers are at the top position of most in-demand professionals in their sector.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the growth rate of these developers is projected at 13% between 2018 and 2028.
Large tech companies are always on the lookout for versatile developers who are well aware of all the design aspects and guide the company. The tech industry is growing rapidly and so does the demand for full-stack developers indicating more career opportunities in the future.
– Samiya Firdous
