Full Stack Software Developer

Learn Full Stack Software Developer

What is a full-stack developer?

A full-stack developer is a web developer or engineer who works with both the front and back ends of a website or application meaning they can tackle projects that involve databases, APIs, build user-facing websites, or even work with clients during the planning phase of projects they work both client-side and server-side.

Full-stack web developers:

Are familiar with HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and one or more back-end languages.

Most full-stack developers specialize in a particular back-end programming language, like Ruby or PHP, or Python, although some, especially if they’ve been working as a developer for a while, work with more than one. In job listings, you’ll generally see openings for “full-stack Ruby developer” or the like.

Some full-stack developers also learn either project management, visual design, web design, or user experience skills to complete their “stack,” if you will.

As the line between what can be done on the front end versus back end developers increasingly blurs, more developers are becoming what we call full-stack developers. A lot of employers (especially agencies who work on different kinds of sites) are looking for developers who know how to work on all of the parts of a site, so they can use the best tools for the job regardless of whether it’s technically “front end” or “back end.” Hence the rise in companies listing full-stack development on job requirements.

Now, contrary to what a lot of people think, “full-stack” doesn’t necessarily mean a developer is writing all of a site’s code themselves. Many full-stack web developers spend the majority of their time on either the front or back end code.

The point is that they know enough about the code across the entire stack that they can dive in anywhere if needed. Some full-stack developers do code entire websites, including both the front and back end, but usually only if they are working freelance or are the only developer working on a project.

 

 

WHAT IS FULL-STACK WEB DEVELOPMENT?

Full-stack development gets even more confusing because of the way it shows up in job listings. Sometimes, you’ll see positions calling for full-stack developers, sometimes full stack web developers, (if you see “full stack web developer” in a job listing, it’s referring to a full stack developer still), and sometimes full-stack engineers. In a second, we’ll explain the difference between full-stack developers and engineers, but first, let’s go ahead and define full-stack development as well.

Full-stack development includes pretty much any project where you’re working on (or building) both the front and back end of a site or app at the same time.

Essentially, it’s any web development project that would normally require both a front-end developer and back-end developer but instead, a full stack developer fills the role of both.

 

 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FULL STACK DEVELOPER AND A FULL-STACK ENGINEER

A full-stack engineer is a senior-level role for someone with the skills of a full stack developer (as described above), but with project management experience in things like systems administration (configuring, managing, and maintaining computer networks and systems).

If you look at the examples of full-stack engineer jobs listed on sites like Indeed, you’ll see that these positions typically ask for at least 3-5 years of full-stack web development experience.

Since Skillcrush is focused on helping people learn skills to break into tech, we usually focus more on developer-level positions, but full-stack engineer jobs are the kind of roles you can look forward to after spending some time in the industry.

 

What is a front-end developer?

Front-end developers build the visible parts of websites (like web pages and user interfaces) that users see and interact with from their web browsers.

The front end of a website (or web or mobile application) is the part a user sees and directly interacts with. The front end is built with languages like:

• ·        HTML
• ·        CSS
• ·        JavaScript

 

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the backbone of the Web. Every website you visit is built with HTML. It takes care of all of the structure and content. HTML5 is the current iteration of HTML on the Web, although sites built with older versions still run fine in your browser.

 

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is what controls the way the HTML looks on the page. CSS sets the colors, fonts, background images, and even the way the page is laid out (you can use CSS to (re)arrange the HTML elements on a page however you want, even if it differs from the order they’re arranged in the HTML file). CSS3 is the current iteration of CSS on the Web, and it adds a ton of features for things like basic interactivity and animations.

While you can create a website with just HTML and CSS, JavaScript is the game-changer (it’s also causing the lines to be blurred among the different specializations).

To put it simply, JavaScript lets you add in interactivity, more complex animations, and even makes it possible to build fully-featured Web applications.

Back in the day, web browsers used to be really bad at interpreting a lot of JavaScript, so adding complex functionality with JS wasn’t always a good idea. But browsers have gotten much more powerful, making it possible to do with JavaScript what used to be reserved for “back end” programming languages.

There have been advances in JavaScript itself (including the creation of frameworks like AngularJs, jQuery, React, and Node.js). In short, what we mean by “front end” development has radically changed in just a few short years.

TL;DR: Front-end developers use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to code up websites. They’re the ones who take the design and create a functioning website from it. Some sites are only built with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript while others have more code hidden away in the site’s back end to augment or enhance the site’s front end.

 

What is a back-end developer?

Back-end developers build the “under the hood” parts of websites that users don’t interact with directly.

So what does this mean for front-end vs. back-end development? While front-end development concerns everything the user interacts with directly (client-side), back-end development is much more behind-the-scenes (server-side) and can have some advantages over front-end technologies for specific projects. Back end programming languages include:

• ·        PHP
• ·        Ruby
• ·        Python

 

One thing to note: You’re probably not going to see many job listings that say a company is looking for a “back-end developer.” Instead, you’ll find listings looking for Ruby (or Ruby on Rails) developers, Java developers, or PHP developers, etc., because the actual programming language a developer knows is key to being the right fit for a particular job.

As far as what you can do with a back-end programming language that you can’t do with JavaScript, the list is much more limited today than it used to be. One key difference: most content management systems are built on a back-end programming language, as are many large, complex web applications.

JavaScript can suffer from performance issues (i.e., it gets slow or even buggy) in some cases, so while it’s now possible to use JS to build just about anything you can think of, sometimes there are still better solutions out there. Learning to code will teach you to find the best solution for your specific problem, and sometimes that means using a back-end language.

Back-end developers generally work with a front-end developer to make their code work

within the site or app design (or to tweak that design when necessary) and front end.

 

WHAT SKILLS DO I NEED TO BECOME A FULL-STACK DEVELOPER?

You’ll typically see a mix of front and back end skills listed on full-stack web developer job listings, including:

• ·        HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• ·        Ideally, one or more third-party libraries like React or Angular
• ·        Programming languages and libraries like Ruby, PHP, Python
• ·        Experience with databases, like MongoDB, Oracle, SQL, MySQL
• ·        Version control like Git
• ·        Knowledge of security concerns and best practices
• ·        Ideally, some knowledge of web or visual design, plus user experience best practices

 

Advantages of Full Stack Developers

Entire Design Sections

The entire design structure, it is one of the main reasons for hiring full-stack developers. A full-stack developer can involve in the designing section to make a prototype design for the project. Whether the developer is a part of a large project or a small project, he/she use their experience and set of designing skills to handle entire front-end sections of the project. The full-stack developer has deep knowledge of HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, or third-party libraries such as JQuery, LESS, SASS, AngularJS, or REACT.

 

Cost Saving

Every company has at least three or four developers on a single project, resulting in more time spent in work allocation and communication. While many other companies hire full-stack developers to perform a variety of tasks like front-end and back-end at a single time. Through this, they save massive time and cost on the project and deliver a quality result.

 

Technology Advancement

There is no surprise as the various industries around the world are experiencing the significant transformation of technology, whereas the developers are getting smarter with the technology. Developers around the world are busy making web and mobile applications by using technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence. Full-stack developers can build web and mobile applications by using these technologies.

 

Effective Communication

The full-stack developers can easily communicate with the clients. They can make custom choices, depending on each specific requirement of the client or application. They can also discuss the project requirements with the clients effortlessly.

 

Average Full-Stack Developer Salary

Becoming a full-stack developer means forgoing specialization in favor of picking up as many skills as possible. Even so, your knowledge won’t be shallow; full-stack developers are often referred to as “unicorns,” similar to designer-developer hybrids because their skills are so expansive and rare. It’s certainly not an easy path. But is the pay worth the effort?

Or, salary-wise, would you be better off going for a simpler job that’s easier to take on?

Here is the average full-stack developer’s salary:

• ·        Indeed: $108k/year, based on 10.5k reported salaries
• ·        Glassdoor: $99k/year, with a low of $63k and a high of $157k
• ·        ZipRecruiter: $103k/year ($49/hour), with a low of $38k and a high of $159k
• ·        PayScale: $79k/year, with a low of $54k and a high of $115k

 

Is It Worth It to Become a Full-Stack Developer?

Looking at the average full-stack developer’s salary, is it worth the trouble to become a full-stack developer, or is it best to specialize?

With an average salary of $97k per year, starting at $80k/year in the early career and moving up to $117k/year as a senior, money concerns aren’t a problem. You’ll be making just as much if not more than similar fields. If that’s all you’re worried about, you should be fine pursuing this job. You will likely make more than your typical web developer, but only by a hair. So if server-side scripting is your dream job, and you only want to take up the “full-stack” title to earn a little more, it may not be worth the extra effort.

Many full-stack developers say they end up focusing a majority of their effort into backend development anyway. While the knowledge of the client-side can undoubtedly help, it may be better to specialize.

It all depends on what you want. Would you rather have an expansive general knowledge of creating a website, which can help when issues arise in a project? Or would you rather heavily specialize in either front or backend coding and learn as much as you can in these narrow fields?

With all these jobs having very similar salaries, in the end, it’s best to go for what interests  you most as a budding developer.

 

What you will learn

• ·        Build a fully functioning database-driven website from the ground up
• ·        Use modern JavaScript libraries to make single-page web applications
• ·        Build a secure user authentication system and manage user data

 

How you will benefit

• ·        Build a functional website to add to your developer portfolio
• ·        Join existing development teams as front-end or back-end developers
• ·        Support non-web-based software built with Python
• ·        After learning several different programming languages, you will be able to
• ·        pick up new programming languages more easily if they have a need (or interest)

 

How the course is taught

• ·        Self-paced, online course
• ·        18 months to complete
• ·        Open enrollment, begin anytime
• ·        650-course hours