According to recent studies, the top full stack developer skills will include a variety of technical abilities and expertise. By staying ahead of these trends, businesses can ensure that their full stack developers are up-to-date on the latest tools and technologies to keep their operations running smoothly.
By understanding what specific skills will be in demand over the next few years, businesses can develop an effective strategy for recruiting and retaining top talent. So, what are the top full stack developer skills for 2022? Read on to find out.
What Do We Mean by Full Stack Developer?
A full stack developer is a developer who has skills covering all or most of the aspects of software development from back-end services to user interface. A full-stack developer will typically work on both sides of a web application, creating both the client-side and server-side code.
Being a full-stack developer simply means having a solid knowledge of how an application is built from the ground up. It doesn’t mean that a person needs to know every single bit of code and language behind it all. There is always something new to learn in the programming world, but it’s also important to be able to distinguish what exactly you need to know, in order to perform in your role.
As a full stack developer, you can build your own products, services, and applications. You have the freedom to choose where and how you want to spend your time. You can work on projects that are of interest to you or on those that are not. You can also use your skills in different areas such as front-end development, back-end development, or any other niche skill set.
Full Stack Developer Skills
As technology evolves, companies are forced to become leaner. Where they once needed specialists in each area of the tech department, many businesses are now finding that hiring generalists can be more effective. This is especially true for startups and small businesses.
There isn’t time (or staffing) for multiple people to do one job when there’s only room for two or three team members on board. As listed by JobsPikr, the best job data su
pplier, here are the top full stack developer skills in 2022 that you need to master.
- Database knowledge
Just like any other software engineer who wishes to be considered as an expert in their field, full-stack developers need to know how database systems work. Database concepts such as ACID transactions vs BASE, normalization of data, relational databases vs document databases, and NoSQL might seem obscure at first but they are essential for building scalable web applications.
- Front end knowledge
Over the past years, JavaScript has become one of the most widely used programming languages. Only backend developers are expected to master it but full stack developers embrace this trend and know enough about client-side scripting to fix front-end related issues without relying on their backend colleagues.
JavaScript frameworks such as AngularJS, React or Ember is becoming an essential part of many web development stacks. So even if you do not plan on using them for your next project you should still have some basic understanding of how they work.
- Backend knowledge
As with front-end development, backend concepts are also changing rapidly due to the introduction of new technologies such as containerization, serverless functions, or event-driven programming. Full-stack developers should keep up with the latest trends in back-end development to understand what lies ahead and how these new technologies might be used.
- Version control system knowledge
Being proficient in using Git is a must for any full-stack developer. Even if your company uses some other version control system, knowing how Git works will make you able to use it efficiently and greatly reduce the time spent on resolving conflicts (which can occur due to conflicting merges between different branches).
- Understanding network protocols
One of the most important things that backend developers need to know about is understanding network protocols such as TCP/IP, UDP, HTTP, or HTTPS which are essential for building scalable web applications. This means not only knowing what these protocols do but also knowing how they work.
- Performance optimization
After all the hard work of building a web application, any developer will want to make sure that it runs smoothly and is not slow to use. While performance optimization should be done at all layers of the software stack, full-stack developers are expected to have some basic understanding of how front-end code impacts page loading time or have basic knowledge about caching mechanisms such as Memcached or Redis.
- Security awareness
Any web application that stores sensitive data (such as credit card numbers) needs to comply with security standards such as OWASP top 10 or PCI DSS. Full-stack developers will need to know how to avoid common security issues such as SQL injections or session hijacking and what can be done to improve the overall security of a web application.
- Selenium testing
While unit testing is crucial for any software project, automated functional tests are extremely useful for websites. Having knowledge about testing frameworks such as Selenium will allow full-stack developers to create their own test suites in order to check whether an application works correctly before deploying it.
- Data presentation skills
Data visualization helps convey complex information in a simple manner which makes it an invaluable skill for any full stack developer. Being able to create simple charts or visualize data with D3.js will allow you to build your own dashboards, KPI reports, or even tell a company’s story by making statistics more digestible.
- Monitoring tools
A full-stack developer will spend only a small percentage of their time writing code but they will also need to monitor application logs, server health and solve problems that may occur when an app is live.
Knowing how to deploy applications in containers or serverless architecture, being able to configure logging tools such as Splunk or Logstash, and knowing what metrics can be monitored using New Relic or Amazon Cloudwatch are all great skills to have for any full stack developer.
Conclusion
Full Stack developer skills are in high demand and will continue to be in high demand for the next several years. As businesses strive to become more efficient and effective, they will require full-stack developers who can wear many hats and take on multiple roles within an organization.
If you are a full-stack developer or are looking to become one, now is the time to invest in your skillset. The future looks bright for those who have the necessary skills to be a full-stack developer!
