What is a Full Stack Developer?

What is a Full Stack Developer?

A full stack developer is the person responsible for building, testing, maintaining, and managing a web platform in every respect, which means both Front End and Back End. Front End is all the content that can be seen on the screen, that is, text, photos, forms, videos, colors, and everything that interacts directly with the user. On the other hand, the Back End is the part of the platform that sits behind the scenes, that is, managing the database the page stores, the authentication system, password handling, data storage, and so on.

Even though these are different areas, they are generally handled by different people with diverse backgrounds using a variety of technologies and techniques. With the incredible growth the web has experienced over the last 15 years, the Full Stack career was born: a developer who is an expert in both areas.

The Full Stack developer is the person in charge of building, developing, maintaining, and managing everything: the Front End, with all the design work that makes a website friendly, attractive, and cool, and, on the other hand, the Back End.

Even though these are different disciplines, and therefore one might assume that developer profiles differ from one another, digital growth over the last 10 years has increased demand for Front End and Back End developers by 135%, leaving many companies without enough people to carry out their projects. Because of this surge in demand for Full Stack developers, many bootcamps and universities have launched Full Stack developer courses that can be taken online or in person. As a result, a new discipline has emerged that combines both, all handled by a single person; we call it a Full Stack Developer. With this explanation, it's easy to define a Full Stack developer as a developer (or engineer) who can build, maintain, and work with both the Front End and the Back End of a website. Since Full Stack developers are involved in every aspect of the development process, they need experience in both.

A Full Stack developer can work from home (remotely) or at an IT development company that designs websites, software, and other components for other businesses. This is one of the great advantages of the job: the freedom to work physically wherever you want, whenever you want, usually with flexible hours and good salaries.

Full Stack developers are often confused with Software Engineers. If you want to learn more about this, you can check out this article on the differences between a Full Stack Developer and a Software Engineer.

Skills and Responsibilities of a Full Stack Developer

Because a Full Stack developer works across different disciplines, it's essential that they have the necessary knowledge and know how to work with a variety of programming languages. A very important skill for the Front End is the ability to work as part of a team, because the design of a website that the user sees (also called the UI) is generally not created by a Full Stack developer, but by a UX/UI designer, an expert in aesthetics, user intuition when using the page, and the arrangement of items.

Some of the responsibilities of a Full Stack developer are:

• Developing and then maintaining the website's components on both the server side and the client side.

• Integrating the server-side and client-side components of a web application: this involves writing code to ensure that the server-side and client-side components communicate efficiently with one another.

• Testing and debugging 🐞: Full Stack developers are responsible for making sure their code works the way it's supposed to, detecting bugs, errors, and different kinds of problems. Testing pages is an entire field within development, so there are plenty of skilled people working on it, but it's important to be able to handle the basics of it.

• Keeping Up to Date with industry trends and best practices: Full Stack developers must stay current with the latest technologies, programming languages, frameworks, and tools in order to ensure they're using the most efficient and effective solution for their projects. This is also important because a website's SEO is much better when it's built with good practices.

Full Stack Developer Salary 💰💰

After learning about the huge demand for Full Stack developers around the world, the most obvious question is: how much do these companies pay for these services? What is a Full Stack developer's salary? What is the Full Stack developer's pay like? Of course, the answer varies a great deal depending on the country, the developer's level of experience, and the company we're talking about. In any case, there's a consensus that it's one of the best-paying careers, with a lot of potential for growth and development, and that will remain the case for several more years to come...

Factors that affect Full Stack Developer salaries

A Full Stack developer's salary can vary depending on a number of factors:

• Experience 🧑🏽‍💻: "senior" developers frequently have salaries that are higher than those of "Junior" developers.

• Skills: Full Stack developers can be more valuable to a company, and are therefore paid more, if they have a diverse skill set and experience with a range of technologies and programming languages.

• Industry: Full Stack developer salaries will depend on the industry you work in. Developers in the banking, finance, and healthcare sectors can make more money than those in the retail or entertainment sectors.

• Location 🌎: Salaries can vary depending on where the job is located. Developers in smaller, less expensive cities may earn less than those living in places with a higher cost of living, such as San Francisco, New York, London, Berlin, or Hong Kong.

• Company Size 🏢: A company's size can have an effect on salaries. Developers at large corporations with more funding and revenue tend to make more money than those working at startups with fewer resources.

• Education 👩🏽‍🎓: A Full Stack developer can make more money than someone without a degree if they hold a degree in computer science or a fairly related field.

• Job Responsibilities: as in any other job, developers who are able to take on additional tasks, including managing a team or project, may be better compensated financially.

It's essential to remember that these variables can change based on the organization and the individual. A Full Stack developer's salary can also be affected by additional factors such as performance and negotiation skills.

Comparison of a Full Stack Developer's Salary in Different Locations

Here's a list of some average annual salaries for a Full Stack developer in 2021:

It's important to point out that a Full Stack developer's salary varies depending on your level, and these are basically classified into 3: Junior, Semi-Senior, and Senior.

To account for the wide difference in salaries across different countries, this table shows the minimum recorded, the maximum, and the average salary, depending on the developer's experience:

Full Stack Developer Jobs

The following are some examples of positions that are frequently filled by Full Stack developers:

• Web Developer Full Stack

• Web Application Developer

• Software Engineer (Full Stack)

• .NET Full Stack Developer

• Python Full Stack Developer

These jobs can be found in different sectors, such as technology, Finance, Healthcare, and Commerce. Depending on the particular role and the organization, the job duties and requirements can vary.

Job Descriptions for Full Stack Developer Positions

• Full Stack Web Developer: Uses a range of technologies, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, NodeJS, and SQL, to create and maintain web applications from the Front End to the Back End.

• Full Stack Engineer: Uses a variety of programming languages and frameworks, including React, Angular, Python, and Java, to design, develop, and manage software applications from the Front End to the Back End.

• Using frameworks such as Spring, Hibernate, and AngularJS, Java Full Stack developers are in charge of creating and maintaining Java-based web applications from the front-end to the back-end.

• The duties of a .NET Full Stack Developer include creating and maintaining .NET-based online applications from the front-end to the back-end, using tools such as ASP.NET, C#, and SQL Server.

• PHP Full Stack Developer: They are responsible for creating and maintaining PHP-based web applications, implementing frameworks from the front-end to the back-end.

How to become a Full Stack Developer?

The classic way to study is always an option for becoming a professional of any kind. You enroll at the university of your choice, pass all your courses, and in 4 to 5 years you become a web developer with all the general knowledge that this institution wants you to have. But today's demand for these kinds of jobs is so high that certain smaller academies have created a faster, more intense, and more to-the-point way called Online Bootcamps.

These courses train anyone who has no knowledge of programming or web development, from scratch, up to a Junior-level full stack developer, ready to go out and offer their services to companies. This gives you the opportunity to become a freelancer or work full-time for a company.

There are many academies offering very good training programs with excellent instructors, teaching assistants, infrastructure, and well-planned curricula; but there are some academies that make a difference by offering certain distinctive features.

One example of these academies is 4Geeks Academy, an academy with both face-to-face and online formats, with more than 15 locations in different cities, such as the bootcamp located in Miami or the coding bootcamp in Berlin, offering 3 specializations in different areas of tech development, including the full stack developer course. It offers lifetime mentorship for its students through its programs called GeekPal, which lets you schedule meetings with highly experienced tutors to solve any technical problem you might have as a student or after graduating, while you work for another company. All of this at no additional cost, even once the course is finished. It also offers a system that helps recent graduates land a job and get placed at a company looking for full stack developers, and this is also for life.

Common Technologies Used by Full Stack Developers

The most widely used languages for Front End development are HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. This last one, unlike the other 2, is a programming language, meaning you can program with it; whereas HTML and CSS are simply code for building something visible, but they don't interact with the user, and they don't work with variables or functions. Within the world of JavaScript there are many frameworks, which, using this language, make it easier to develop complex platforms in the simplest way possible.
Some of them are VueJS, Angular, and React. For the Back End, languages are generally used to manage databases, such as SQL (the most commonly used), and for the rest, Java, PHP, Ruby, and Python.

Full Stack developers work with a wide range of technologies across the Front End and Back End of a web application or platform. Below are some common technologies used by full stack developers:

🖥 Front End Technologies:

To create the structure and visual style of web pages, the most widely used languages are HTML and CSS. The two work together, the first for structure and the second for the design, colors, fonts, and everything else.

Next, to create interactive and dynamic web pages, JavaScript is the third ingredient, as well as for developing front-end frameworks and libraries such as React, Angular, and Vue.

There are also tools that help a great deal in achieving an attractive development result, using popular front-end frameworks and libraries, which include React, Angular, Vue, and Bootstrap.

🖥 Back End Technologies:

Server-side languages: common server-side languages used by full stack developers include Java, Python, Ruby, Node.js, and PHP.

Web servers: common web servers used in full stack development include Apache and Nginx.

Databases: full stack developers work with a variety of databases, including: MySQL, MongoDB, Oracle, and PostgreSQL. It's worth mentioning that there are basically 2 types of databases, relational (SQL) and non-relational (NoSQL).

APIs: full stack developers frequently create and work with APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that allow different software systems to communicate with one another. An API is a small program used as an intermediary between a server and a user. Information and data can be requested, and it responds with the ability to use that data.

Full Stack Developer Resume and Job Application

• Key Elements of a Good Full Stack Developer Resume: There are 2 tools that are quite widely used in the tech industry to showcase your skills and previous work to a company for a job. The first is the classic CV, where you list previous companies, projects you've developed, some references and contacts, and the skills you've learned and can offer the company you're applying to.

• The Full Stack Developer Portfolio: the other great tool widely used in these cases is the portfolio. A portfolio is basically a website where the applicant can physically and specifically showcase the projects they've built, adding links to those pages (if they aren't their own) and creating a pleasant experience for anyone who visits that website. That's where all of the developer's creativity can be brought to life. If you'd like to learn more about portfolios and how to build them, you can check out our article on how to create a Full Stack Developer Portfolio.

• Tips for Putting Together a Full Stack Developer Job Application As with an application for any other job, it's always important to read the job posting being offered. Understand that a profile with certain skills is required, skills I need to have in order to contribute. Another good tip is to do a little research on the company you're applying to, in order to understand its market, departments, and basic way of working, so you can demonstrate professionalism and interest during the interview. A tip that's typical of tech job interviews at development companies is to have the logical training to solve tests they may have you work through as a filter. A problem may come up and you'll have to write code that solves it within a certain amount of time, and for this it's good to have practiced in the days leading up to the interview. There are many websites with exercises to solve in many different languages for various areas.

Common mistakes we should avoid when applying for Full Stack Developer jobs:

Below are some common mistakes we should avoid when submitting applications for Full Stack Developer positions:

• Applying to jobs that don't match your skills: Before applying, read the job description carefully. When you apply to positions you don't qualify for, you waste your time and the recruiter's time.

• Not tailoring your cover letter and resume: Make sure to match your application materials to the employer and the job description. In your resume, emphasize your relevant experience and talents, and give reasons why you'd be a good candidate for the role.

• Failing to showcase your work: Provide links to your Github, portfolio, or any relevant work. Your future employer is interested in learning more about your skills and your approach to problem-solving.

• Adding unnecessary complexity to your application: Keep it short and to the point. Avoid overwhelming the recruiter with a long cover letter or an overly complicated resume.

• Ignoring soft skills: Full Stack developers require outstanding communication skills in addition to their technical expertise.

Conclusion

Today there's a great opportunity to enter the world of technology. Not only is it more affordable than before, but there are more possibilities when it comes to academies, formats, and opportunities. To get started on your own, it's enough to dedicate around 6 months to learning the fundamentals and then go out to offer your services as a Junior developer to companies that are hiring.

For this, we must always rely on our CV, cover letter, and portfolio; they are our most powerful tools; on top of a good performance during the interview itself, making it natural, simple, and being well prepared for a possible technical test.

Salaries worldwide (in general) are very good, and you can take part in development in any country in the world, so all you have to do is search and apply. Always keep in mind that this is a changing and complex world, one that is always constantly reinventing itself, and that you always have to stay aware of whatever new thing is coming out, so you don't fall behind in development.

So what are you waiting for?? You already know everything you have to do: the opportunities ahead of you, salaries, growth opportunities, flexibility, and the chance to enter this revolutionary world that we didn't have just a few years ago; and it's currently available to anyone who commits to studying for 6 intense months and joins this enormous industry that permeates virtually every kind of person and place today.