Junior backend software engineer skill build list.

Becoming a backend developer is about as close to being a wizard as it gets in software development. You’ll learn how to see the invisible and bring order to a world that most people barely know exists. It’s not hard to see the connection there.

Here’s one build for becoming a junior backend developer. There are many such builds, this is only one suggested path.

Phase 1: Basic skills

I would not apply to backend jobs unless I had ALL of the following skills.

• Language: Hyperfocus on a specific language. Pick one and stick to it. Don’t jump around, it’ll dilute your efforts and you’ll likely only learn the shallowest concepts of each language. You don’t need to know every single feature of the language, but you SHOULD be learning new features almost every day.
• Framework: Hyper-specialization in that language’s top web framework. (For example, Java has Spring Boot; JavaScript has Express; Python has Django)
• REST: — how and why to use HTTP verbs (GET, POST…) and status codes (200, 400, 401…).
• MongoDB: Learning MongoDB is good enough to get you a dev job, with the caveat that not knowing SQL will close many, many doors for you — so you should learn RDBMS as soon as possible after you understand MongoDB. Firebase DOES NOT count.

Phase 2: Highly valuable skills (try to have at least 2 of the following)

• DevOps — How to set up servers and databases. I’d recommend learning this on AWS (easier than you might think. they have courses and relatively well-respected certification, and it’s an extremely valuable skill)
• RDBMS: How to create and evolve RDBMS database schemas. How to create database migrations and seeds. How to query databases using SQL. I would recommend picking up PostgreSQL for this category.
• Nightly jobs: Also known as “batch jobs.” These things run by themselves on a schedule and do work in batches. You’ll want to learn Cron scheduling. Very few junior devs know how to build these, and you’ll stand out from the crowd if you do.

Phase 3: Other valuable skills

• OOP: Basic knowledge of how to work inside an object-oriented paradigm. For example, Domain Driven Design or classic 3-Tier architecture. SOLID principles also help (Google them).This will help you understand the culture of backend development, and will open many doors.
• Unit Testing and TDD — You’ll get a job without this. But if you learn TDD properly, it’ll accelerate your learning curve thanks to how it shortens the build-test-iterate loop. I.e. you’ll be able to code more in less time.
• GraphQL — In 2021, this is the fastest growing skillset on the backend / API side. It’s been giving REST a run for its money.
• Message Queues: Knowing how to use Kafka and/or RabbitMQ will help you a lot in appealing to companies that have more elaborate backend development needs.
• Caching: Redis and Memcached help optimize server performance by storing things in RAM instead of slower hard drives.