How Training to Be a Full-Stack Developer Sets You Up for Career Success
Becoming a full-stack developer opens doors to challenging and interesting jobs across industries. Full-stack development skills prepare you to successfully work on both the back end and front end of websites and apps. Understanding both broadens career possibilities and makes developers more attractive to hiring managers.
Hired recently released its Trends in Software Engineer Specializations: 2024 Report. In it, they write: “We found the most dominant specializations have remained steady over the past three years. Back-end Engineer, Full-Stack Engineer, and Front-end Engineer consistently topped the list of most-posted and most-interviewed roles.”
In this post, we’ll look at the role of a professional full-stack developer. We’ll also explain why we train students in full-stack development to prepare them for long, fulfilling careers.
What does a full-stack developer do?
As Hired puts it, “When it comes to Full-Stack Engineers, adaptability is everything.”
A full-stack developer or engineer can work on and build both the front end (parts visible to the user) and the back end (data storage and infrastructure) of a website or app. This dual ability creates value for companies that need employees who can be agile from task to task and project to project.
“Because Full-Stack Engineers have relatively broad experience…they allow businesses to pivot or expand their offerings with a smaller, more agile team, adept at handling a variety of tasks and challenges,” writes Hired.
The exposure that comes with training to become a full-stack developer presents a well-rounded educational opportunity. Students can learn what they enjoy about development as they dive into all aspects of it. Some graduates of our coding bootcamps discover their passion for back-end or front-end development and pursue roles specific to those skill sets. Others apply to full-stack roles so they can diversify the projects they work on and continue developing on both ends on the job.
No matter your preference, training in full-stack development allows you to confidently apply to full-stack, front-end, and back-end jobs – and you’ll be prepared for each.
How do you train to become a full-stack developer?
Full-stack training provides a comprehensive view of development, covering the following areas:
Web development languages: You’ll use a combination of programming languages on the job, such as HTML/CSS, JavaScript, SQL, Java, C# or others. While a bootcamp won’t make you fluent in every language, you’ll learn a selection while laying the groundwork to be able to learn others efficiently.
In a recent interview, Tech Elevator graduate Richard Vanderburgh said, “I just started a new job at the University of Dayton Research Institute. I’m a Computer Engineer working on C++ projects for the Department of Defense. Tech Elevator didn’t directly teach me C++, but it did prepare me by teaching me the fundamentals of object-oriented programming.”
Web architecture: You need to know how to organize, structure and configure the parts of an application. Web architecture includes the rules and logic that determine how these parts interact with each other. Typical elements include servers, frameworks, libraries, databases, plus client display and interactive elements.
Software access and tracking: Full-stack development projects – even the most simple ones – can quickly grow in complexity. Having a way to coordinate many people, make source code accessible, track streams of changes and manage iteration is a necessity. Git and GitHub are widely used full-stack developer collaboration and version control software applications that you’ll need to master.
Database storage: Storing data and accessing data are at the core of both website and mobile app functions. As a full-stack developer, you need to understand different types of databases, including relational storage solutions. Plus, you’ll need to understand how to connect them in full-stack programming.
Design fundamentals: To be a full-stack developer, you need to understand business logic and user needs at every step. You’ll learn about design fundamentals so that you can contribute to creating efficient applications that are fit-for-purpose and easy to use.
Full-Stack Developer Career Options
As mentioned, career flexibility is one of the big benefits of learning full-stack development. Our graduates get hired under a range of professional job titles. Because they had access to well-rounded training, they have options for long-lasting career fulfillment. Beyond full-stack, back-end, and front-end developer, you may also land jobs like software developer, software engineer, Java developer, and project manager, where your understanding of the development process from start to finish will enhance your ability to lead a team.
Are you interested in learning full-stack development?
Our coding bootcamps allow you to learn full-stack development from experienced instructors as you build real-world, portfolio-enhancing projects. Ready to get started? Kick things off by taking our free aptitude test!
Written by Vinny Sanfillipo,
Senior Director, Career Development