Back End Developer: Job Profile and Role

We start our following job profile with a little assumption – and yes, we know what they say about assumptions! This is that you have already browsed more than one website, be it for information or online shopping. What you see is the website’s frontend, what you do not see is its backend that needs as much TLC and expertise as what you do see.

In fact, a website will not work without a backend, making the job of a back end developer a much-needed occupation and an excellent career choice. In the following sections, you will find out if this is a career you might want to pursue. To help your decision, we have assembled all the relevant information on salaries, qualifications, skills, employers, and much more.

Short Summary

• As a back end developer, you work behind a website’s scenes, so to speak, where you are responsible for building its “backbone” and architecture.
• As a back end developer, you get your daily dose of logic in the form of so-called application logic which you manage by writing server side-scripts.
• As a back end developer, you implement safety and security measures that protect a website’s data from unwanted attention and cyber attacks.

Job description

As a back end developer, you are mainly responsible for giving a website its backbone, meaning that you are in charge of writing side-scripts and building its architecture. Your job will be a logical one where you analyse and fix (potential) problems and use your logical thinking for applications, among other things. You are also responsible for testing and debugging to ensure a website’s smooth and flawless running. Here, you collaborate with a front end developer and/or a full-stack developer who checks the same parameters for the matching front end. Besides, you are tasked with designing and implementing safety and security measures to protect a website from data leaks and unwanted attention through cyber attacks.

Responsibilities

• Documentation
• API Development
• Server-Side Logic
• Security and Safety
• Database Management
• Integration with Frontend
• Performance Optimisation
• Monitoring and Debugging
• Version Control/Collaboration
• New Technologies Adaptation

Different types of Back End Developers

• Java Backend Developer
• .NET Backend Developer
• SQL/Database Developer
• Cloud Backend Developer
• Microservices Backend Developer

Salary

Your starting salary as a full-time employed back end developer in the UK can be as high as ￡38,000. Several years of work experience and taking on more responsibilities can propel your annual wages to ￡61,000 – do not forget that your professional development also contributes to higher annual wages. Let’s assume that you end up working as a .NET/C# back end developer. In this case, you can factor in between ￡58,000 and ￡87,000 annually! Also, do not forget that your employer and your location have a say in what you earn each year. We recommend that you start job hunting in IT hubs, such as London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, and Edinburgh. Chances are that you can earn very satisfactory salaries in these cities.

Working Hours

Concerning your weekly working hours, you can generally expect an almost classic 9 to 5 job which you work Mondays through Fridays. Almost 100 per cent of your working time will be office-based, meaning that you will spend your working days in front of one or more computers. Your working hours can differ, for example, in times of project completion or emergencies. Here, you should factor in and be prepared to work overtime which tends to stretch into the evenings and can affect your weekends as well.

You may also want to look into the possibility of remote work. A lot of employers offer this interesting option which gives you more flexibility in arranging your hours and completing your daily/weekly tasks.

Employers

The advance of digitalisation means that back end developers are not likely to encounter a shortage of employment options anytime soon. The same applies to potential employers. Typically, all companies and businesses with a (working) website need your expertise and services. This means that you can almost take your pick and start looking for a job with e-commerce and retail businesses, banks and other financial institutions, government agencies, the healthcare sector, or whichever employer best suits your values and visions. 

Qualifications

If you want to work in backend development, you should invest time, effort, and money into completing prior education. This can happen in the form of an undergraduate degree or an apprenticeship. Working towards the role is also possible but requires on-the-job training (then again, so do the other two approaches). Keep in mind that you typically need to have completed your secondary education which can take shape through high GCSE pass grades (generally, 9 to 4/A* to C) or the equivalent A levels which you earn after successfully completing sixth form.

Skills

Needless to say, you will need excellent writing skills if you want to pursue a career in backend development. These, you will not only use for writing coding and programming backend features but also to communicate your ideas and methodical approaches to your colleagues and employers. Before we take a closer look at three more important competencies, we ask you to always check which skills your future employer expects of you – as you know, requirements can vary and we want you to be prepared for all eventualities.

Understand the Front End

We have already said that a backend is pretty superfluous without the matching front end. Although you do not work as a full-stack developer who has expertise in both front end and back end development, you should nevertheless know the most important technologies that relate to a website’s front end. This not only improves collaboration with your front end development colleagues but also enables you to better understand how to integrate your back end into the front end – or the other way around.

Patience and Focus

When you work in back end development, you will spend a lot of hours stuck in front of and staring at a computer. You need to design and write codes by using programming languages, you need to figure out if all your implementations run smoothly and without hitches. Unfortunately, you do not tend to see the fruits of your labour within minutes, hours, or even days. Patience, therefore, is one of your most important assets if you want to perform a good job. At the same time, you need to have a strong focus which enables you to spot anomalies at once and gives you plenty of time to come up with a solution.

API Knowledge

Knowledge of APIs – application programming interfaces – can be placed somewhere between a soft and a hard skill. Wherever you place it, it is an important competency to have if you want to work in back end development. Build a solid knowledge foundation focusing on the most-used APIs, such as RPC and REST. Quite literally, your other skills and your expertise will then do the rest.

Career Path

Your educational approach to back end development sets you up for your future career in this profession. An undergraduate degree in IT or web design or an appropriate apprenticeship can be an excellent starting point. With further training, for instance, through boot camps, you can start working as a back end developer in the UK. Here, you have the option to specialise and become a .NET/C# back end developer, among other roles. More senior – aka managerial – roles are also possible which means both higher salaries (ideally!) and more responsibilities.

Educational Background

Although there is no specific degree that qualifies you to work in backend development, you can look into undertaking an appropriate undergraduate degree, such as a BSc (Bachelor of Science) in computer science, digital media technology, computer engineering, and/or information technology. 

Equally, you can research which apprenticeship can fit the bill. Viable options are higher apprenticeships as a web and telecoms professional, an IT professional, or a software professional. You can also gain important knowledge and training by completing apprenticeships as a software engineer.

Training

Your training is one of the most important aspects of your education to become a back end developer. As of now, there are no specific university courses designed for this particular IT knowledge. But not to worry, there are various institutions in the UK which offer you bootcamps and (internationally) accredited qualifications and certification. You may want to check out Northcoders with campuses in Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle, and Birmingham or enquire about training at Le Wagon. Note that you can complete some of the training remotely as well. Most boot camps take between one and three months to complete, and the fees are tiered according to the boot camp duration.

Continuous Learning

Besides the attendance and completion of boot camps, you should invest time and effort into other aspects of your professional development. Naturally, being an expert in programming languages and server side-scripts is not only mandatory to work in back end development but also a great way to work your way to the top of the career ladder. If learning is “your thing”, a postgraduate degree like an MSc or a PhD in a computer-related field can benefit you as well. To name one more option, you can enquire about training with City & Guilds. The institution offers a range of certifications and qualifications, such as the following:

• Level 3 Diploma in ICT Systems and Principles
• Level 4 Diploma in Software Development and Systems Support
• Level 5 Diploma in ICT Systems and Principles
• Level 4 Certificate in Data Analysis Tools 

A Day in the Life of a Back End Developer

With all this information at hand, you can now look forward to finding out what your typical day as a backend developer in the UK looks like. Even though your daily tasks may vary depending on your employer’s needs, we are fairly certain that the following three tasks will be a part of your working day.

Back End Development Work

Naturally, one of the paramount daily tasks is to work on actual back end development. This can include anything from writing code language to designing and implementing databases, or working with APIs. Typically, you already do some testing and debugging while performing these tasks to avoid time-consuming and unnecessary work on fixing problems and issues.

Team Collaboration

Since a website consists of different “ends”, team collaboration is another daily task waiting for you. After you have written code or worked with the relevant APIs, you need to liaise with the front end developer. Here, you discuss possible adjustments and figure out where your back end development already matches the front end development. This part of your working day can also include so-called planning sprints for ongoing or upcoming development cycles.

Code Review

One of the later daily tasks is code review. Sometimes, this task can be a “by-product” of back end development but it tends to be more sensible towards the end of the day. Ideally, you have finished enough coding that needs checking and reviewing before a specific website/backend part can be integrated with the front end and go live. Here, you identify potential issues and either already imply solutions or spend time brainstorming ways to fix a problem.

Tips for Thriving as a Back End Developer

Since we have already given you plenty of valuable information to stay on top of your professional development, we will now take a closer look at some career-advancing personal development options. If you want to thrive as a back end developer, you should take the following three tips for thriving on board (and yes, we have included some more on your continuous professional development):

• Relax and switch off
• Invest in your soft skills
• Stay updated on security

Relax and Switch Off

Working in back end development can be both monotonous and stressful. After all, you not only have to stare at a computer screen for hours on end, but you also have to meet deadlines and ensure that all safety and security measures are in place and working. Juggling these balls will affect you more than you may think – even though your job is your passion and your heart’s desire. Relaxing and quite literally switching off after your working day is just as important, no matter how much you enjoy working. Take some time out, take out a book, or binge-watch your favourite Netflix show – whatever brings you down and distracts you from your working day is important, both for your personal life and for thriving as a back end developer.

Invest in your Soft Skills

Your hard skills, aka your qualifications, are a requirement for working in back end development. Do not forget that your competencies, aka your soft skills, are just as important. Be it problem-solving, communication, analytical thinking, or time management – being “the best” in these disciplines will ensure your thriving in back end development. Another benefit of these skills is that they also tend to improve your personal life.

Stay Updated on Security

Hardly a day goes by without a new cyber threat that can potentially affect your employer. Be it phishing, spamming, or hacking – the list of cyber attacks is endless and gets more evolved by the second. Therefore, you must stay updated on all the latest security and safety measures and regulations. It will not do just know what’s what, you need to have in-depth knowledge. Being lax in this important aspect not only means you will not thrive, but it usually also means that, sooner or later, you will lose your job – security breaches that are your fault are not appreciated by any employer.

Integration and Deployment on a Continuous Level

We have one more tip for you when it comes to thriving as a back end developer in the UK: continuous integration and deployment. If you want to stand out from your colleagues and/or the competition, you should invest time and effort into so-called CI/CD pipelines which can include tools/software, such as Travis CI, GitLab CI, and Jenkins. Understanding how these tools work brings you one step closer to your set career goal.

Frequently Asked Questions