Full Stack Developer: How to become invaluable

Every profession has a “know-it-all” position, and in app development this comes in the form of a Full Stack developer. Just like Front and Back End devs, a Full Stack also understands and focuses on specific areas. But their main difference is seeing the whole picture. Besides having a well-defined expertise area, a Full Stack developer knows how to help out in other fields.

The keyword for Full Stacks is versatility. Alas, it’s their biggest and most important trait. Full Stack positions are becoming more popular as the days go by, allowing you to understand better how web applications’ structure works. And, because of that, you’ll get a clearer view and appreciation of all of the work involved in order for projects to take off. To become a valuable Full Stack Developer (and boost your career in IT), we’ve written down some tips. Let’s go!

Full Stack Developer, you should be versatile, but pick a lane!

It’s no use being a swiss army knife that doesn’t work properly, is it? Take some time to think about your process and what you are (and want to be) good at. It’s what we call a T-Shape: lots of experience and knowledge in many fields, but a deep understading of one specific area.

T-shaped professionals tend to have more career opportunities due to breadth of experience and depth of skills

Understand the basics of front end

For a nice kickstart, you need to understand, at least, the basics. For a Front End developer, this means HTML 5/CSS, JavaScript and other tools like responsive design. These will give you a head start.

…and back end too

For Back End, some technologies like PHP, Java, Python and SQL are essential. First, focus on sharpening your skills until they’re sharp as a knife. To become a pro, you must take things one step at a time.

Version control with Git

It’s crucial for every developer to understand how to use software like Git – Full Stack or not. Version control essentially allows you control over changes in the source code. Git is popular among devs for being used for this, but also any other type of files.

Think of the user experience

It’s not only the Front End devs’ task to think about usability. That’s something that should be present from the get-go. It’s indispensable on a Full Stack dev’s repertoire. But, usability isn’t just the icons looking good and the overall appearance. Think about mobile, and using responsive design to make sure anyone can use your app.

Broaden your horizons

Only after you become a pro both with Front End and Back End essentials is when the hard work actually starts. The next step is to understand specific concepts and mechanisms. Servers and their inner workings, networks, web hosting environments, algorithms, data structure and databases are some of them. It might sounds like a lot, but this way you’ll utilize all the tools that make an app possible, and create something bigger than the sum of its parts. When you realize how things work and what their roles are, everything becomes clearer.

Can you handle it? Then Ubiminds might be the place for you.

North-American companies are broadening their talent search into South America. We search for and hire software engineers and product designers to help them have quality performers.

Scheila Farias Silveira

International Marketing Leader, specialized in tech. Proud to have built marketing and business generation structures for some of the fastest-growing SaaS companies on both sides of the Atlantic (UK, DACH, Iberia, LatAm, and NorthAm). Big fan of motherhood, world music, marketing, and backpacking. A little bit nerdy too!