If you’re a leader in your industry, you’re likely in a constant search for experts with new experiences, perspectives, and skills to help you invent better products.
In this blog, we discuss some of the essential technical and soft skills you should look out for when adding a full-stack developer to your team. Read on for ways to bolster your technology staffing and recruiting efforts.
What Does a Full Stack Developer Do?
A full-stack developer is responsible for both the front end and the back end of web development. They’re responsible for programming browsers—or the part the user sees—and the server—which is the part that hosts the application.
A full-stack developer handles the creation of a web application from start to finish. They design the front and back end to ensure the application’s efficiency and reliability.
On average, a full stack developer earns $80,039 a year, with junior employees earning around $56k and senior developers earning around $118k.
Technical Skills to Look for When Filling Full Stack Developer Jobs
To find the best full-stack developers, look for candidates with the following technical skills:
- HTML: Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) determines how copy and images appear on the screen using tags.
- CSS: Cascading style sheets (CSS) are style sheets that alter and style various web components for spacing, size, and font. CSS makes page content more decorative.
- JavaScript: A full stack developer needs to be proficient in JavaScript, which is a powerful client-side programming language used to enhance user interaction with applications. It includes several frameworks and libraries, such as Angular, JQuery, React, and Vue.
- JavaScript environments: Full stack developers need knowledge of JavaScript environments like ExpressJS and NodeJS, which is an open-source, cross-platform runtime environment that lets developers create JavaScript apps and server-side tools.
- Java frameworks: For example, Spring and Java Server faces.
- Python: Python is a commonly-used programming language full stack developers need to know. Python frameworks such as Flask and Django are often used for backend development. Django is a free, open-source high-level Python web framework that enables the rapid development of websites.
- Other programming languages: Full stack developers need to know other programming languages including C++, Rust, PHP, Perl, and Ruby.
- Web hosting platforms: Web hosting platforms allow businesses to deploy their product on a cloud service provider so it can be accessed from the internet. They include Google Cloud Platform, AWS, Heroku, and Microsoft Azure.
- Database management systems: It’s critical for a full stack developer to have a good understanding of database management systems (DBMS) such as MySQL, SQL SERVER, PostgreSQL, Oracle Database, and MongoDB. They write code and use relational mapping to fetch data from the database.
- Web architecture: Website architecture involves the planning and design of the technical, functional, and visual components of a website. Full-stack developers employ this skill to understand how back-end data is structured so they can efficiently build a robust, comprehensive product. They also use it to know how to separate files and where to perform specific computational tasks.
- Version control: Version control systems like Git, GitHub, and Subversions help manage project files and keep track of the entire history of the user’s work. GitHub, for example, allows people to review each others’ code, identify conflicts or errors, and even suggest changes.
Soft Skills to Look for in a Full Stack Developer Job Candidate
A full stack developer must also possess quite a few soft skills in order to do their job well:
- Problem-solving skills: These are critical to identify any errors and develop an application that has no bugs and can meet the user’s needs.
- Analytical skills: A full stack developer must be able to analyze information accurately and make data-driven decisions that maximize effectiveness and efficiency.
- Strategic planning skills: A full stack developer needs to manage the full lifecycle of a project. Planning the design, development, and implementation phases correctly is essential to ensure they’re completed in a streamlined manner without obstacles or issues.
- Time management skills: After planning the development cycle, the full stack developer has to make sure they stay on track in terms of time in order to meet the company’s deadlines.
- Creativity: Creativity is an essential skill for full-stack developers. They need to have a good comprehension of the project and devise the most efficient, effective way to meet its objectives in a manner that will engage the target audience.
Contact Us to Find a High-Quality Full Stack Developer
At OSI Engineering, our entire team has a background in technology. That’s why we’re able to source and attract the best possible talent for your full-stack developer jobs. Simply explain to us what the job requirements are and what your organizational culture is like, and we’ll take it from there. To learn more, contact us here.