What Is a Full Stack Developer and What Do They Do?

Whether it’s software development, web designing, app development, or IT services, it’s always better to have a multitasker in your team who is versatile in performing specific activities or functions.

A jack of all trades can help you in various stages of development and hold that needed potential and time management skill that helps in all the phases of your project.

Here, we will consider web development, where the role of an all-rounder belongs to the Full Stack Developer.

A Full Stack Developer is neither a Back End nor a Front End developer, but someone who manages both worlds, a Full Stack. 

Let’s get deeper to emerge with complete details related to a Full Stack Developer, their responsibilities, skills, advantages, disadvantages, etc. 

What Do You Know About a Full Stack Developer? 

The term ‘Full Stack Developer’ emerged during the initial days of the web; when sites were small and simple, it was easy for even an individual to handle all the aspects of website development. 

But, with time, the web has expanded and become more complicated. The birth of predictive computing, machine learning, and responsive design has made it challenging but possible for a single developer to manage every aspect of designing and developing an app or website. 

Today, businesses usually depend on a team of developers to operate network devices, perform with virtual machines, and handle massive databases. Developing a complete, inside-out understanding of all such emerging technologies demands time. 

That’s why the developers with the caliber to accomplish such tasks are versatile enough to manage front and back-end development and everything their team wants from them. 

What Is a Full Stack Developer?

The best computer programmers in both front and back-end coding are full-stack developers. They are responsible for designing site user interactions, developing servers and databases for site functionality, and coding for the mobile platforms.

What Does a Full Stack Developer Do?

A Full Stack Developer works at the Back end, server-side of the app, and the Front End, or client-side. 

To attain his job well, a full-stack developer needs expertise in varied coding niches, from databases to UI/UX management, to graphic designing. He needs to be all set and well-prepared to help at every corner when the process demands him.

Below are some responsibilities of a full stack developer:

• Optimize software by debugging and testing.
• Crafting user interactions on the web app.
• Ensuring cross-platform optimization and compatibility.
• Collaborating with graphic designers to craft new features.
• Staying updated with technological advancements for software optimization.
• Considering maintenance, security, scalability, and more when building.
• Assisting with software design and development.
• Writing clean front-end and back-end code for software.
• Building databases and servers for software back end.
• Testing and maintaining apps’ responsive design.
• Crafting RESTful and APIs services.
• Discussing the impact of the latest or in-trend technologies with decision-makers. 

When Is a Full Stack Developer Needed?

Well, the need for a full-stack developer relies on the software’s size and scalability. 

For example, a small gaming group may include a few members responsible for developing a small simulator, one Front End Developer and one Back End Developer, and the rest they need for the development. Even smaller, they may have just one Full Stack Developer who takes care of the whole application. 

Conversely, a large web app with robust scaling potential may demand various helping hands onboard- Front End, Back End, and Full Stack Developers.

Are Full Stack Developers in Demand?

If we talk about the hiring tales of Full Stack Developer in 2021, it was found surfacing with about 30% and is also considered one of the top hot professions in the last year. 

Even the stats show the increasing demand for full-stack developers as they prove to be a valuable asset to the firm. Their profound knowledge of distinct niches is an add-on that permits them to be adaptable, flexible, and agile. Such skills are essential in the software development field.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Full-Stack Developers

Let’s move on to the advantages of hiring a full-stack developer.

Advantages of Full Stack Developers

1. Speed and Load Optimizer

After developing a stable app, it’s time to target speed optimization or make the app best capable of handling higher traffic. 

To meet these needs, a full-stack developer, a specialized developer with deep expertise and experience in specific technologies, is required.

2. Problem Solver

The full-stack developers are the best pick for small businesses and startups from the business perspective. They are perfect at problem-solving and hold the caliber to handle all the aspects of the project from the start until the deployment. 

3. Management & Executive Skills

A full-stack developer holds extensive knowledge of middle architectural layers, front-end and back end, and management and executive skills. 

A full-stack developer is highly versatile, and one must look at the extensive programming skills in his portfolio. Also, he needs to be a pro in various technology stacks. 

4. Broad Range of Technology Skills

As they are full-stack developers, they prove to be beneficial for businesses as they hold specific skills in different domains and hold the potential to catch up with things quickly. 

They focus on the project with their 360-degree perspective and hold enough knowledge and perfection to append top-notch features to it. 

5. Years of Experience

As full-stack developers are proficient in varied phases of software development, like testing, back end, front end, the architecture of code, and more, their extensive knowledge is not a night-time gift. It’s the output of years of experience dedicated to various web projects.

Finally, it appears to be an add-on for the companies and developers. 

6. On-Time Delivery

The full-stack developers make sure they deliver the projects on time as they hold the strength to share their responsibilities among the other team members. It leads to easy coordination within the team and ensures the timely delivery of the project.

7. Locate & Resolve Issues

Professional and experienced full-stack developers adept with all the stages and aspects of the project development. As they clutch years of experience in web development, they hold the potential to locate the errors and implement long-term solutions to attain the best mobile or web app with optimal functioning. 

8. Cost

Hiring full-stack developers appear to be a cost-efficient task as there’s no need to hire or consume time and money in conducting interviews for two different stream developers, front-end and back-end. 

Disadvantages of Full Stack Developers

Here, a full-stack developer may lag. 

1. Implementation Becomes Challenging

However, the full-stack developers are experts at various technologies, but when it comes to the implementation, some just lay down their weapons. 

2. Fail to Keep up With Latest Trends & Technologies

A full-stack developer must be an expert in the latest and most varied technologies. Sometimes, it becomes tough to maintain pace with the latest technologies and trends. 

3. Increasing Number of Stacks

The front-end, database, and back-end are adequate. Still, when the latest technology stacks come in, it becomes challenging to learn and target new technologies, such as data analytics, ML, IoT, blockchain, AI, etc. 

4. Slow Down Process

Being adept in various programming languages, the full-stack developers need to switch between different languages while taking care of the rest of the things on the project. But, it’s much more time-consuming for them as they need to recall all the basics and put in distinct references to brush up on minute yet essential things. 

Front End vs. Back End vs. Full Stack Web Developers — What’s the Difference?

The responsibilities of full-stack developers match perfectly about half of it with the duties of back-end developers and the rest with the responsibilities of front-end developers. 

In some cases, you will witness an overlap between the back-end developers and the front-end developers. 

Let’s segregate the responsibilities of each to get it better. 

1. Front End Developers

They deal with user-facing systems and interfaces, develop the visuals, interface, and navigation, target user experience, and use HTML, CSS3, and JS.

Furthermore, it refers to the GUI needed for website navigation, embracing its entire videos, layout, images, buttons, text, and other visual elements. 

• Front-end developers target making the site look engaging and offer a positive user experience. 
• Front-end development gathers user input.
• They handle various issues, such as SEO and user accessibility.
• Front-end development uses web and markup languages, such as HTML, CSS, and JS. 

2. Back-End Developers

They deal with the app’s server and database, craft the back frame that facilitates the existence of front-end development, use Ruby, Python, and PHP, and store the user details in the database. 

• Back-end development targets the application of logic to resolve many functionality and user experience issues.
• Back-end development process user inputs. They take care of the website’s backup and security.
• Back-end development uses scripting and programming languages like Python, Ruby, PHP, .Net, and Perl. 

3. Full Stack Developers

They hold cross-discipline web development proficiency embracing front and back end, deal with the overlap between the back and front end, use all the coding languages these two and MySQL, machine learning, etc. Also, they take responsibility for the whole experience to ensure smooth functionality. 

You can directly compare back-end and front-end development as it resembles a blend between the two. 

Education and Background to Become a Full Stack Developer

Full Stack Developers are competent and have earned skills through their years of education and experience in relevant fields. The jobs in this profile are highly in demand, but employers don’t prefer relying on just anyone for their web development projects. Full-Stack developers must meet certain work experience and education standards to hire. 

1. Work Experience

This task is unlike those that need years and years of on-job experience before using, yet you can’t expect to discover it entirely in training. You need to hold the caliber to reveal that you have the experience and the know-how to manage the task. This can be attained with the required learning and education or through experience in a related profile. 

Some employers may certainly demand from you at least three years of experience with this specific coding language, such as HTML, CSS, and javascript. 

2. Education and Learning

You would require to catch up with a partner’s level in computer programming, computer science, data, software shows, or relevant data. You may not need a degree more significant than an affiliate’s degree to become qualified to request work, yet a level above yours’. 

Some full heap developers even opt for master’s level to stick out. In internet development, an intensive Bootcamp is one more mode to get all the skills needed to perform well as a Heap Developer. 

Best Courses Available to Become a Full Stack Developer 2022

If you need to learn Full Stack Development or become a Full Stack Developer, you must reach the right place. The Internet is full of online courses, whether on web development, web designing, full-stack development, etc. You need to choose the best course from the best place to learn the fundamentals flawlessly.

Top Full Stack Web Development Courses are available at

• Udemy
• Coursera
• Upgrad
• Edx
• Udacity
• LinkedIn
• Skillshare

You can choose another way to learn full-stack development by selecting the top websites that offer tutorials to learn, test, and get trained by improving your basic understanding like 

• W3schools
• Tutorialspoint

How Long Does It Take to Become a Full Stack Developer?

Well, the answer to this is a bit tricky and relies on your specific needs and schedule. 

1. Experience Level

The effort and time needed to become a full-stack developer will rely on your starting point. If you are new to development, you will face a distinct set of challenges and might be on a different timeline. 

2. Your Availability

The time to become a full-stack developer also relies on your availability. 

You need to consider your current work-life balance and check if it allows you to engage in intensive study, or does it demand slowing down your path? 

• Part-time: You can choose to study part-time if you are working full-time. 
• Full-time: If you are not pursuing any job, you can opt for full-time, full-stack development learning. 

Full-stack developers need robust knowledge of the developments, front-end, and back-end, to attain the desired goals.

There are some standard learning timelines:

3. Learning in 3 Months

Well, three months is a general and minimum frame needed, and this timeline will suit the best highly dedicated learners. Such learners would already possess professional skills in development and coding and be ready to opt for a full-time schedule. 

4. Learning in 6 Months

The professionals who should choose a part-time schedule while working full-time may opt for this timeframe. 

5. Learning in 1 Year

This timeframe is the best option for the one who can’t take time off their job or have a load of their other life’s responsibilities. 

Industry professionals who need to expand their knowledge base and meet the new challenges can go through online tutorials and courses. Although, you would need to spend most of your years in training, creating projects, and letting your portfolio expand. 

Skills and Tools Used by Full Stack Web Developers

If you want to make a career in full-stack development, first, you need to understand its variety. Also, you need to refine your technical skills and brush up your resume to demonstrate your fluency with the below skills and tools:

• Version control systems: Git and GitHub
• Servers: Nginx or Apache
• Database storage solution: SQL, JSON, and NoSQL
• Back-end programming languages: PHP, Ruby, and Python
• Front-end programming languages: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript 
• APIs: SOAP and REST 
• Capabilities: Visual communication and graphic designing

Personality Traits of A Great Full Stack Developer

Besides, a full stack developer should hold the right personality to be a deserving Full Stack developer. Let’s put some light on a few:

1. Expert in Time Management 

An admirable multitasker of web developers is the full-stack developers. They perform both the tasks of the front and back end to ensure the job is done perfectly. Usually, their plate is full of several tasks at a time. A full-stack developer should master time management and prioritize the jobs to ensure everything is accomplished within the deadline. 

2. Communicate More Precisely

A full-stack developer used to work in collaboration with front-end and back-end developers. So, full-stack developers need to be proficient in verbal and written communication. 

3. Much Attentive

Before submitting their work, the full-stack developers repeatedly check (two or three times) to ensure the outcome is as expected. They prefer everything to be detailed; you can witness that in their clean code. 

4. Curious 

A person needs to be curious about various aspects of life if he wants to catch up with the things right and as he wants. Similarly, a prominent full-stack developer should be interested if he wants to learn about the different industries and user interactions with the web app. 

5. Creative Thinker

A full-stack developer should hold that will to think out of the box and emerge with creative solutions to assist web apps to stand uniquely ahead of the competitors. 

How Much Do Full Stack Developers Make?

Full-stack developers possess a wide variety of skills that most brands demand, and this helps the full-stack developers to make the best salaries. These days, every business finds it essential to have mobile apps and websites. 

1. Salary of Junior Full-Stack Developer

Full-stack developers with limited experience, Junior full-stack developers can expect a competitive salary of around $87,750 per year.

However, you need to know the salaries vary based on industry and location. The juniors in this field may opt for internships to develop their portfolios and earn experience to catch up with high salaries. 

2. Salary of Average Full-Stack Developer

As per a survey, the salary of average Full-Stack developers is about $107,487 across the country. Well, this figure embraces Full-stack developers with average experience levels of about a decade or less. 

3. Salary of Senior Full-Stack Developer 

Full-stack developers with different years of experience can earn a high, six-figures up to $142,186/annum.

The above salary figures are just estimates; you need to understand that tech skills hold the caliber to grab a big chunk of earnings depending on location and industry. 

How to Start Learning Web Development?

If you are a stranger in the web development and coding field, then best wishes on your initial step. 

To kickstart the right way, below are a few essential steps for your new Full Stack development journey.

1. Learn HTML and CSS

To become a professional web developer, you need to be an expert at some fundamental, essential tools. You can start with free tutorials and courses.

2. Hands-On Javascript and JQuery

JS and jQuery are used to append interactivity to your static web pages. With HTML and CSS, JS and jQuery will become your chief tools to help you become a front-end web developer. Again, you can find a way to learn courses and tutorials to get it better. 

3. Practice Your Skills

Just conducting classes, courses, and tutorials is not enough to become a web developer. Practice makes a man perfect; the same goes here. You need to practice a lot to master the required skills. 

After completing every stage, you will progressively become confident working on such tools. 

Well, all these demand a timeframe and practice, but you should need to be all set with these before moving on to the next step. 

Should I Pursue Full Stack Development?

In the early stages of your learning, you may get stuck with confusion about whether full-stack development suits you or not. Well, there’s no need to stress it out. 

Most usually suggest targeting learning and experience in three core web languages, HTML, CSS, and JAvaSCript. As you move ahead in the journey, you need to decide which pathway you should choose and what you find appropriate for you. This way, you will catch up with the expected outcomes as you wish and deserve.

How Can You Get a Job as A Full Stack Developer?

On top of all, proper and required education is always an initial step to kickstart your journey toward a successful full-stack developer. 

To catch up with a desired Full Stack developer job, you need to learn the below three ways:

1. Education

Education holds an important corner when it comes to making a career as a full-stack developer. 

Well, this step is quite expensive and demands extensive learning. After 10+2, you can choose to take a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. 

2. Self-Paced Learning

The most flexible and affordable program is usually self-paced learning. You can move ahead by choosing online textbooks, courses, interactive programs, and podcasts to teach yourself the essential skills. 

The best part of self-paced learning is its low cost. Although, you lack resources or guidance to use. You would need to build the connections, find the mentors, and look for the opportunities all yourself.

3. Coding Bootcamps

The last option to consider while attempting to build a successful full-stack developer is coding boot camps. Bootcamps are intensive yet short programs crafted to help you become job-ready within a limited period. Most such bootcamps take around three to six months to get completed. 

The bootcamps curriculum is crafted to offer the most elective coding learning experience. In coding bootcamps, the peers and instructors are the valuable resources that will assist you in kick-starting your career on the right foot. 

In the last, bootcamps usually provide financing and scholarships through external patterns. 

Full-Stack vs. Backend vs. Frontend: Whom to Hire for Your Business Needs?

Are you looking for a developer or a dedicated development team for your project but are unsure which one is right for you; front-end developer, back-end developer, or full-stack developer? 

Let’s now find the solution to help you meet your unique business needs. 

The skills are not common regarding back-end, front-end, and full-stack web programming. A developer needs to be an expert in the essential tools of HTML, CSS, and JAvaScript, and it’s so easy to gain proficiency in these technologies. 

Additionally, the developer needs to be an expert in front-end programming frameworks. For some specific needs, CSS and Javascript frameworks are also essential. 

• Top JS frameworks are Angular, Vue.js, React, and more.
• Top CSS frameworks are Semantic UI, Bootstrap, Bulma, etc. 

How to Hire a Full Stack Developer?

While hiring a full-stack developer, you should look for specific technical skills and qualities. 

• Understands the stacks and different technologies.
• Is passionate and interested in learning new things.
• Can guide the right path for a solution even if they fail to solve it.
• Can witness the big picture, the business vision, and understand the clients’ needs.
• Knows the latest development technologies and trends.

Technical Skills of A Full Stack Developer

You can look for the below technical skills in a candidate while hiring a full-stack developer:

• HTML, CSS, and Javascript (make it a mandatory skill)
• Version control
• Programming languages (back end)
• Third-party APIs/services
• Databases
• Deployment and hosting

Things to Notice in A Resume

As much as possible, you need to diminish the dependency on the resume. A resume can’t indicate a developer’s technical skills, and you can end the resume’s role after referring to it to know a developer’s relevant experience.

Also, you can prefer other skills of a good programmer, like contribution to open source, previous projects, and exposure to many technologies. 

When to Hire a Full Stack Developer

The needs of the role usually drive a full-stack developer’s demands. 

You can hire a full stack developer when:

1. You Need Product Managers

Full-stack engineers can become perfect product managers. They hold the caliber to understand the business needs and know the engineering capabilities. When decisions need to be made, consider distinct parameters, they are valuable resources. 

2. Cost Is Restricting You

When it’s tough for you to afford to hire a specialist for every development layer, a full-stack developer is a big savior. A good food stack developer doesn’t come cheap.

3. You Need an MVP

When you have to develop an MVP, a full-stack developer’s need arises. He would pick a feature or idea and convert it into a fully-functional prototype. 

4. You Need a Co-Founder/CTO

When you need someone who can merge his technical skills with his business’s shared vision, a full-stack developer can emerge as the right co-founder or CTO.

When Not to Hire a Full-Stack Developer?

When you can’t see a precise value add, you shouldn’t hire a full-stack developer. 

When you reach a scale with millions of active users daily, you should hire a team or a specialist for every layer, like a data and infrastructure team. Here, hiring a full-stack engineer wouldn’t append a value. 

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Full-Stack Developer?

Web developers, especially Full Stack Developers, are not easy to find because of their experience and skills already hired in the name of other profiles, like front-end and back-end developers. Full-stack development companies offer Full Stack App Developer and Full Stack Web Developer for hire monthly, weekly, or hourly as per the business needs. 

Well, we can’t emerge with the exact cost of hiring a full-stack developer as it relies on various factors, like:

• Experience 
• Location
• Type of Project (simple or complex)
• Number of features (you need to include in the app)

How Can We Help You?

When we partner with our worldwide clients, we ensure the delivery of top-quality results. Our adroit full-stack developers take care of all our clients’ issues and meet their desired outcomes. Emizentech’s full-stack development team offers customized solutions, follows agile methodology, and ensures prompt project delivery with client satisfaction.

1. Help for Developers

We provide a flexible hiring model that can be customized according to the clients’ business needs. Besides, to ensure the delivery of best-performing projects, we offer a customized engagement approach that fulfills the requirements on varied dimensions. 

We help with:

• Onsite Full Stack Development Team
• Offsite Full Stack Development Team
• Hybrid Full Stack Development Team

Also, our Full-stack development company emerges with distinct pricing models:

• Fix Price Model
• Dedicated Model
• Time & Material Model

2. Help for Businesses

We help businesses build an interactive, feature-rich experience on mobile and web platforms, offering a rich user experience at its core. We assist startups, small as well as large businesses develop their mobile and web apps to let their businesses reach new heights. 

Wrapping Up

The moment you start is always a better time. So, you can create your trip to become a full stack developer, brush up on your skills, catch up with the experience, etc. 

Besides, you need to hold an analytical mindset, be an expert at time management, hold a constant learning pathway, and be creative in every corner. 

At last, we hope you have got up every related detail you were looking for in full-stack development. 

Frequently Asked Questions on Full Stack Developer