Job in demand: Pursuing a career as Full Stack Developer

Today, a Full Stack Developer is one of the most talked about and in-demand job roles. A full stack developer adds value to a team and organisation, owing to possessing a varied skill set and having the capability of independently working on a project, thereby helping reduce operation costs. With companies now moving to smaller teams to save cost and time, there has been a huge demand for full stack developers across the last one year. Demand for this job role is especially high in product based companies, both in the startup sector and elsewhere. In fact, industry reports show that there has been a 20% growth in the demand for full-stack developers in 2018 v/s 2017, with companies shifting preferences to having multi-skilled professionals on-board.

What does a Full Stack Web Developer Do?

A full stack developer is someone who can build a product end to end by working on a mix of technologies and stacks. The definition of full stack refers to the set of technologies required to execute a particular project. A developer of this nature is familiar with each layer of the 3-tier application system model, and is multi-skilled in terms of knowing all the tech languages needed to build the frontend and backend components of an application or product. The programming knowledge required for each layer of the 3-tier model is:

1.The presentation layer - This is the front end portion of an application which deals with the user interface. A full stack developer should be a master of essential front-end technologies like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Hands-on knowledge on frameworks like Angular and React JS is also desirable.

2.Business Logic Layer - This is the back-end portion of any application which deals with data validation. Developers need to posses knowledge on languages like PHP, Python, Java, etc. Knowledge on frameworks like Django, Flask, etc. can be a plus.

3.Database Layer - This is the database management component of the application which provides an access path to app data. Developers need to have knowledge of various DBMS technologies like MySQL, MongoDB, Oracle, SQLServer which are widely used for this purpose. Knowledge of caching mechanisms like varnish, Memcached, Redis is a plus.

Other technical skills which will help strengthen a full-stack developer’s profile:

*Basic design ability and exposure to handling servers is desirable.

*A good background in Linux helps tremendously in administering servers.

*The knowledge of Git helps full stack developers to understand how to get the latest code, update parts of the code, and make changes in other developer’s code without breaking things.

*Knowledge of web services or API is also important for full stack developers.

*Knowledge of creations and consumption of REST and SOAP services is desirable.

*Ability to write quality unit tests

*Understanding of automated processes for building testing, document, and deploying it at scale

*An awareness of security concerns is important, as each layer has its own vulnerabilities

*Knowledge of Algorithms and data structures is also an essential need for professional full stack developers

The future looks bright for full stack developers with several emerging growth opportunities in the startup and corporate sector. In a recent industry report, salaries for full stack developers in the city of Bengaluru range from an average of 6.25 lakhs to 14.22 lakhs per year. However, the current industry scenario depicts an increasing demand-supply gap for full stack developers due to the lack of job-ready workforce. This makes it extremely important for job seekers to focus on skilling and up-skilling in terms of the necessary programming languages. These will not only help build a compelling resume, but also open more growth avenues for aspiring full stack developers.

(Nrupul Dev is CTO and Co-Founder, Masai School. Views expressed here are personal.)