What Is Full Stack Developer: Roles, Responsibilities, Skills And Scope

In the early 80s and 90s, many programmers single-handedly coded entire applications without requiring different skilled professionals, technologies, and programming languages. This was about the time when hardware and memory devices were limited and not so advanced. In this post, I’ll cover what it means to be a full stack developer, its impact on the skills developers need to learn, and how it affects teams. The key to understanding the role of a “full stack developer” is knowing what a stack is. Modern applications are complex, requiring hardware, people, processes, and software to design, build, and maintain.

full stack developer meaning

These aren’t important aspects of coding, whether it’s a stack of pancakes or a stack of laundry. With the right skill set, a career in Full Stack development can be incredibly rewarding, there are plenty of opportunities for growth and advancement plus an increasing supply of jobs around the world. The back end also consists of logic that can connect the application to other services and databases.

Full Stack Development Explained

He is also the founder of Nikasio.com, which offers multiple services in technical training, project consulting, content development, etc. The element of the application which the user does not see is referred to as the back end. Back end developers are responsible for the site’s logic, the creation of servers, and the interaction with databases and APIs . Organizations that are thinking of adding a full-stack developer to their team should consider the following drawbacks. First, most full-stack developers are not an expert in any skill and instead have average knowledge of multiple skills. Therefore, if a project requires detailed experience with complex concepts, hiring multiple, more specialized developers is a better approach.

full stack developer meaning

You can build up your skillset by trying out online tutorials, enrolling in an online web development course, or signing up for a relevant web development certificate. This may mean installing operating systems (ex. setting a linux server so that your app can run) or managing the complex set of dependencies (ex. Installing the correct version of python) as your code base grows. This can greatly vary based on your setup and there are is whole set of engineers who specialize in this field. Typically when a job posting or job title uses the word “full stack,” they are referring to someone who has both “front end” and “back end” development knowledge.

Front end Development (Client side)

Learning Git also allows you to collaborate with others on a team and make changes to the same code base from different locations. CSS preprocessors like Sass and Less allow you to add logic and functionality to your CSS. A full-stack developer has all the keys to the house–there’s no door that you cannot open. If you’re starting from scratch, thenonline tutorials are an excellent way of working out if the field is for you.

full stack developer meaning

Full stack development refers to the process of developing a complete web application from the front-end user interface to the back-end server-side logic and database management. A full stack developer is someone who has the skills and knowledge to work on all aspects of the development process. Software engineering is a general term, whereas full stack development is a part of software engineering that requires knowledge of front-end and back-end technologies to create end-to-end web applications. A full stack developer works on a complete technology stack which generally includes a back end and front end. A software engineer is mostly an individual contributor who can work on a specific module or technology at a time.

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There are plenty of opportunities for this since can outsource to one person who can handle all development requests. That being said you need to have the skills, knowledge, and experience — although the barrier to entry is going to be much lower. In a development project, you can master all the techniques involved. It is hard to go back to approach the old data when you already developed the website using Mean Stack technology.

But just how well do you know the basic, or how deep you know the advanced. With time I realized that “full stack” is more of a statement of preference than anything else. All of the full stack devs I’ve met have simply chosen to broaden their skillset rather than deepen it. That’s not a bad thing by any means, it’s just a different approach than a “front-end” dev might be used to.

Should I Pursue Full Stack Development?

Usually, full stack developers have to work with multiple technologies for handling the front end and back end. However, there are technology stacks like MEAN stack and MERN stack that use JavaScript as the base for both the front end and back end, thus making it easier for developers to learn and code. These developers handle the UI of a web application —for example, visual effects, frames, navigation, and forms.

Full Stack Developers are highly intelligent people who have trained through their education or through years in related fields on the job force. These jobs are in high demand, but employers don’t want to trust their web development to just anyone. There are certain standards of education and work experience that Full Stack Developers have to meet to be hired. Entry-level full stack developers and experienced full stack developers both are generally paid more but this depends on region, skills, and requirement. This course includes a massive 76 hours of on-demand video and 7 articles.

A note on frameworks

It is one of the best and powerful programming languages for a wide range of apps and use cases. As a full stack developer, you must know the nitty-gritty of website development including APIs, databases, and server configuration. They must possess expertise in at least one backend language (PHP, Java, C#, Ruby, Python) and respective backend frameworks (Django, Spring, .Net, Express.js, Rails). Frontend full stack developer covers the presentation part – a part that is responsible for user engagement and user interaction. Full stack developers require to know basic frontend languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and important aspects of frontend development like validation, responsiveness, and user experience. They should be well acquainted with front-end development and continuously look for new things and updates.

  • Some examples of common scripting languages used are PHP, Ruby, and the most popular these days, Python.
  • Meanwhile, front end developers oversee a digital entity’s client-facing properties, including its user interface , browser compatibility, and overall aesthetic presentation.
  • Java Stack involves working with core Java, servlets, REST APIs, JSP, Hibernate, Spring, and common web technologies such as CSS, JS, HTML, and so on.
  • So, today I’m a “multi stack engineer”, tomorrow an “all stacks architect” and the day after a “stack design pope”.

We are looking for a Full Stack Developer to produce scalable software solutions. You’ll be part of a cross-functional team that’s responsible for the full software development life cycle, from conception to deployment. If working for a major tech company is your dream, full stack developer jobs are a path for getting there.

Skills and Tools Used By Full Stack Web Developers

Various back-end frameworks and libraries are available to developers today. These frameworks and libraries can be used to build web applications, mobile applications, and desktop applications. https://www.globalcloudteam.com/ Some popular back-end frameworks and libraries include Ruby on Rails, Laravel, and Node.js. Each of these frameworks and libraries has its unique benefits and drawbacks.