I'm going to make it really simple it's only one explanation. A full-stack developer is somebody who builds the front end and also the backend of an application.
That's could be the user interface of an app,
or it could be a website. Let's be specific about what the back end is about. The
backend is simply building the APIs keys or the restful APIs with that in
addition to interfacing with the database, storing the actual data on a server.
That's what back end development does, so it's two different spectrums.
Here's the problem. People think that they're going to make more money as a full stack developer and so they need to learn full-stack development, but that's not how it works. Nobody hires junior full-stack developers nobody if you're brand new and becoming a programmer, don't become a full stack developer cause no one going to hire you for that.
You may say, It's good, though it's good to
learn the back end, right? Well, yeah, but not before you know the front end is
not going to help you at all, and it's bad because all these boot camps are
teaching full-stack development.
They teach you front end web development and
then they go and teach you, Ruby, on Rails. Or they teach you Python And Django
and you spend all this money on these very expensive boots Camp learning things
that you're not going to use for your first job? Yes, it's cool to know those
things, but you're not going to get a job for that.
Here's the reason why big companies have back end developers and front end developers. If two different types of developers do the jobs, very few companies even hire full-stack developers. And the ones that do are startups that are very, very small teams very lean. I'm talking about limited funding, you know, maybe GH100,000 in funding versus a startup that might have GH3 million in funding and if there's only one person on the team or two, then you might become a full stack developer cause you're sprinting and racing to build the front end and back end cause you guys don't have enough money to pay all the bills for more developers So you're doing it all.
That's very uncommon. Now I will say If your
goal is to become a freelancer, become your own boss, then be being a full
stack developer is very advantageous. It's going to help you out a lot because
now you can build everything. You can build a front end and the back end, and
you get paid for it all, which is cool.
You don't have to outsource the other side of the project, but you can't learn the back end without understanding the front in any way, so I also want to talk about back end development. A lot of new developers will say I want to learn back end development that I don't care about the user interface. That's all I want to do and I have to tell them I'm sorry. You have to learn the front end first.
Nobody
hires junior developers for the back and they just don't. Why is that? It's
because you're working with important data. The code that you write is so
critical as a back end developer you could destroy people's records. You can
look at their records.
Their security is so many things to consider. They're not going to hire a junior back end developer. Almost every developer who goes into the back end, they always start in the front end. So here's what I recommend that you do. You learn the front end first could be ios development that could be Android development. That could be web development. Learn those first, get a job doing those things first. Do not spend a moment of time learning back end development unless you know you have some extra time you're mastering this stuff maybe and you just want to build yourself like a node server for your project. Unless you're doing something like that.
A lot of recruiters says when he's on with
HTML, CSS, JavaScript and node and PHP and my SQL and SQL and Oracle and all
these things. And of course, we all know those job postings are bonkers. You're
not going to do any of that stuff at all you're going to focus either on the
front end or the back end, so that's why you should. If you're brand new,
should get the full stack out of your mind. Do not learn Ruby on Rails. Do not
learn Python And Django. I know the boot camps are teaching it, but it's a
complete waste of time because you're not going to get a job doing those
things.
Also,
if you go onto indeed and check out salaries. A full-stack developer makes
$111,000 a year. That's good, right? If you can get the job, that's probably
mid-level. A back end developer makes $127,000 a year.
If you
just focus on the back end and don't do any front and stuff, you make more money
because nobody hires full-stack developers. The startups do at the limited
funding big companies they want people to be disciplined and one thing.
You can't get that job without having
experience on the front end or having had some experience in programming. This
is why it's so critical that you don't divert your time and focus on what
you're learning. So many beginners come to me saying. Learning HTML, CSS and
JavaScript and react, but then you know I'm also learning node or Ruby on Rails.
You can't take all this stuff in at the same
time. It's not even necessary. Master the front end. I promise you this will
help you out. This helps you get a job much more quickly. Once you have that
first job, sure go to town. Master whatever back end framework you want. If
you're a JavaScript developer, master node, you'll move real fast building
APIs.
Conclusion
Focus on the front end. Get your first job
and then learn the back end. If you're a freelancer or you want to be your own
boss. Still have to learn the front first. Get your first projects
in the front end and then when you've mastered that then Start learning the back
and you can do the whole thing.