‘Fullstack developer’ is one of the roles that is in demand these days. Infact, the demand for full stack developers has gone up by 72% in the last 3 years compared to before that. Full-stack developers are also much better paid than most of the other roles in the software engineering field.
So, What is a full stack developer? Why is it in demand right now?
Full stack developer:
Full-stack developer= Front-end Development + Back-end Development + DevOps + Design
A full-stack developer must know how to deploy, optimize, automate the application. In short, full-stack developers are sort of all-rounders.
Traditional roles in the IT industry:
Some of the common roles that traditionally exist in the software field are:
- Software developer/ engineer/ analyst
- Database analyst/ admin
- Backend developer
- Network specialist
- Back-end developer
- Test engineer/automation engineer
Most of these roles are specializations in a particular field.
So, does being Full stack developer mean being proficient at everything?
The T-Model: (Source: What is a Full-stack web developer? By Eric An)
Full-stack developers replicate the T-model. That means, the developer should have knowledge across wide-breadth of technologies and platforms but in-depth knowledge about a couple of those concepts like a ‘T’.
Now let’s take a look at the reasons this full stack engineers are in demand.
Emergence of startups:
The increasing number of startups are contributing to the demand in two ways:
In an effort to reduce costs, startups would like to hire a single person with several skills than several persons with several skills.
Startups are increasingly becoming micro-specialized. That means, there are some startups which are really good at just some components of back-end and so on. Large companies are not hesitating to break the projects and outsource it to these companies and they need people at their end who can co-ordinate such projects. Hence, hiring Full-stack developers makes a lot of sense.
Changing culture inside a company:
With companies having teams working from around the world, it is becoming necessary that there should be employees who understand, discuss and address all parts of a development cycle.
Being a full stack developer, helps an employee be a better team player. Full-stack developers work better in the team, because they know and understand the tools that other team members use, and this makes the team more flexible.
Programming efficiency:
Fullstack developers are responsible for end-to-end development. Hence, the programming language remains the same. Keeping the programming language same throughout the stack leads to easier debugging & lower costs.
Overall, companies see a huge benefit in hiring Full-stack developers. That is reflected with more and more people being hired for the role & the salary paid to them.
College should lay the foundation for the students to become full stack developers. This would undoubtedly give colleges the edge during Campus Placements.
