With the enormous resources we have today, “I don’t know what to search for” is the typical beginner’s frustration. And as a developer who also has been there, I completely understand. Some things take time, collaboration, and experience to learn and it is wise to always look for a road map or kind of guide from people who have already done it. I can’t stress enough how much having those guides has helped me in the past years and here I have compiled some lists of things you should aim to learn as a node.js developer.
1. The basics
This is one of the most common problems I see in many developers, learning a new technology can be exciting and your temptation might be to jump into learning frameworks and building projects, it is late in your career you will understand that the basics are far more important than any frameworks or projects.
Have you looked carefully into who fixes that bug everyone talks about that caused the project manager to panic? If you study these people they have a really good foundation of the technology they are working on and when you track back any bug or problem it comes down to the basics.
You know you are on a good track when you have these foundations
- How node js was developed?
- System kernel, thread pool, and event loop
- How does node js make asynchronous programming possible?
- How does node js is single-threaded yet able to handle concurrent requests?
- What are node js core modules and how do they work behind the scene?
- What is event-driven architecture and how are node js utilizing it?
- What are node js phases to execute programs?
2. Code structure
When you start to work for a company this is the first thing you are presented with, their code architecture, how the component interacts, how they create separation of concern, how they are achieving reusability and soon. Learning software architecture and how you can implement it in node.js is crucial because you can easily fit into any team environment, you will deliver a well-written code and that gives you an advantage over anyone.
3. API Integration
Integrating third-party APIs mimics the real-world scenarios you face when working on any application. By having a good understanding of API integrations, you show that you have practical experience in working with external services, which is highly desirable since most companies rely on external APIs for their services. Some third-party APIs you should consider learning or practicing are:-
- Google Maps — Utilizing the Google Map APIs to show maps, find the nearest location from a certain point, convert between addresses and geographic coordinates, etc.
- Twilio — Using Twilio APIs to send verification code text messages or to make/receive a phone call or any kind of text messaging from your application.
- SendGrid — Email communication is the most commonly used type of communication in companies. Integrating SendGrid APIs to send emails from your application can give you real-world experience.
- OAuth authentication — If you don’t know yet how to implement OAuth authentication, building projects that integrate OAuth authentications such as Google, Facebook or Microsoft can enhance your experience.
4. Security
While you don’t need to go crazy on this and be a cyber security engineer, you do need to know the common web security attacks and how to protect against them.
5. Clean code
Clean code reflects a commitment to quality. It’s a mark of professionalism and attention to detail, which are crucial attributes in software development. Writing clean code might take a little more time initially, but it saves a significant amount of time and effort in the long run. It leads to more efficient development and it is definitely worth learning.
6. Deployment
By learning to deploy your projects, you gain practical experience in the entire development process, from coding to deployment and beyond. This can enhance your understanding of how applications are deployed and managed in production environments. It also enhances your employability and opens up opportunities.
Do you want to advance your skills? Check out my course leveling up as a node.js developer https://www.udemy.com/course/leveling-up-your-skill-as-a-nodejs-developer/learn/lecture/41215446?referralCode=398880C78886DFE37060
Thanks and Happy coding ✌️
