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Hiring Full-Stack developers? 8 Skills to watch out for in 2022

Alexander Prokopiev
Alexander Prokopiev CEO of ARTJOKER
6 min read

Product development requires a whole team, involves many tasks that must be performed consistently and work perfectly together in the end. The work is managed by the project manager, and the programmers implement it all. Most often there are two types of specialists: front-end and back-end developers. But there is another one - Full-Stack developer.

Who Is a Full-Stack Developer?

A Full-Stack developer is a developer who is involved in all phases of web application development. He understands everything you need to create an application, both Frontend and Backend. Frontend development includes the visible part of the project that users interact with (the user interface). The Backend is where all the real magic happens. It's the part that includes the business logic (how the system functions, and how data flows through a series of tasks), how the data is stored, and where the solution is executed. In theory, a full-stack developer can do almost everything himself and understands everything. That's the kind of universal fighter he is.

To get the title of Full-Stack Developer you need many years of experience in software development. Such developers are familiar with every layer of the technology stack that goes into creating a software product. By understanding all categories of development, they understand the process more deeply, see the direction of the work more clearly, and can support other team members during development.

The 8 most important skills of a Full-Stack developer

When hiring, consider the skills of the developer. It should not just be a good backend developer. He should be proficient in a large list of programming languages and more. Look for knowledge in the following technologies on a full-stack developer's resume.

HTML/CSS

A technology designed to create modern web applications with video, audio, animation and other "complicated" things, in general anything the user sees. CSS allows you to control the appearance of HTML pages, work faster and do not depend on the platform. Changes are pulled to other pages automatically.

JavaScript

A programming language that is indispensable for web development from all sides. Popular, based on international rankings stacked on the basis of queries in search engines, profile forums and recruiting agencies. Supported by all popular browsers, fully integrated with HTML, CSS layout and server side, saves time and traffic, reduces the load on the server.

Git and GitHub

Version Control System (VCS) is a tool that helps developers keep track of differences in code over time.

Backend languages:

  1. PHP - a popular programming language, the main tool, which is executed on the web-server side and is used to add dynamism and interactivity to websites. Gained popularity due to the popularity of CMS, which use this language (Wordpress, Joomla, MODX). It is powerful and flexible.
  2. C# (C Sharp) - modification of C language from Microsoft, it is a universal language, suitable for creating software for a large number of devices and operating systems.
  3. Java - this language is used for writing frontend and backend, mobile applications for Android, games are developed, it is used for creating server applications which receive data from one server, process them and send further.
  4. Python - used in data analysis, machine learning, Development Operations and web development, as well as other areas, up to game development.

Web-architecture

A full-stack developer must understand the conceptual underpinnings of the modern web. The architecture of a web application basically represents the relationships and interactions between components such as user interfaces, transaction processing monitors, databases, and others. It is important that he understands how to organize the correct operation of all the elements.

HTTP and REST

He must also know the network and user interaction protocols HTTP and REST. This is a set of rules for the programmer to organize the writing of the server application code, so that all systems can easily exchange data and the application can be scaled.

Databases

Data needs to be stored somewhere and accessed later. MYSQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB - all these systems have an extensive toolkit, each optimal in certain cases. In order for a product to perform at its best, you need a developer who can select the optimal data storage system.

UX/UI Skills

The creative part of the project should perfectly "lie" on the entire design, to please the client, to convey the main message of the project and be as user-friendly as possible. You need someone who can look at the design, understanding how it will interact with the rest of the system components. This will help to make all the work faster and less to edit it in the future.

Types of Full-Stack developers

Full-stack developers use different technology stacks for their work. A stack is a set of technologies that are used to create a product. They have differences and each is suitable for a specific purpose. The choice of technology for a project depends largely on the specific requirements of your business.

When hiring full stack developers, you need to understand the differences between the main sets of technologies that are used to develop software. Here are a few basic types to distinguish. They are named by acronyms, by the technologies that are included.

RoR Stack

Here RoR stands for Ruby on Rails. The Ruby on Rails framework, often simply called Rails, uses Ruby as a programming language and the SQLite database.

A developer who works with this technology stack will be suitable for creating uncomplicated applications. Choose it if speed to market is the main criterion.

MEAN, MERN, MEVN and LAMP stacks are suitable for complex tasks, with many pages, payment on the site and a large amount of data.

MEAN

This set of technologies is used for online stores, large corporate sites or educational platforms.

  • M - MongoDB, a NoSQL database used to store and process data;
  • E - Express, a package of frameworks for Node JS;
  • A - Angular, the framework responsible for the frontend part of the product;
  • N - Node, the framework for the backend.

A framework is a structure for software solutions that makes it easier to write code.

MEAN has two valuable advantages. It is scalable and uses JavaScript for both the backend and the frontend. Thus, when hiring a full stack MEAN developer, you should check his or her knowledge of JS.

MERN

Basically, a variant of MEAN:

  • M - MongoDB;
  • E - for Express;
  • R - React, a Javascript library (Angular.js has been replaced by React.js);
  • N - Node.js.

MEVN

Another variation is called MEVN, which uses VueJS instead of Angular.js or React.js. So, in this case:

  • M is for MongoDB;
  • E is for Express;
  • V is for VueJS, an open-source JavaScript framework;
  • N is for Node.js.

VueJS is very popular among programmers because it combines the best components from the AngularJS and ReactJS world, and can work really well for most development projects

LAMP

  • L is Linux, an open-source operating system;
  • Apache is a cross-platform web server;
  • MySQL, an open-source database;
  • PHP/ Python/ Perl - programming languages.

This system is unparalleled in the development and implementation of web applications and servers. LAMP has been used for many years to develop enterprise level web applications that require more customization and flexibility.

What questions to ask when hiring Full-Stack developers?

Hiring full stack developers is not easy, especially if you know nothing about programming. To make this task easier, include someone who understands at least part of the technology in which the job seeker will be working.

At the end of the interview, you need to understand what skills the developer has, whether he is suitable to work on a particular project, taking into account the type of stack and the skills he possesses. When the pattern of work is already defined in large strokes, you know what type of developer you need, ask applicants the following questions:

  • What programming languages are you proficient in?
  • What technical stack do you work with?
  • What software products have you already developed?
  • What APIs have you worked with?

Conclusions

Don't forget soft skills and project management skills - your full-stack developer should be able to interact with the team. In 15 years of work we've seen that this is just as important as hard-skills.

If you don't want to look for such a specialist yourself, you can always contact an agency that already has such specialists.

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