Full Stack Developer: Job Profile and Role

Every website has a front- and a back end. So far, so good – and you may already know that. Each of these “ends” needs an expert who writes and implements the correct coding and performs various tests. Besides, there is another expert who, among other things, works on both a website’s design and coding architecture: a full stack developer.

In the following sections, you will find out all there is to know about this exciting job. You get an overview over the needed qualifications and skills, what you will likely earn per year, and where you can find a job. Our hard facts are accompanied by insights into a full stack developer’s working life and three tips to help you advance your career.

Short Summary

• As a full stack developer, your role is to write effective APIs, so-called application programming interfaces, which involves software updates, troubleshooting, and debugging.
• As a full stack developer, you are involved in and responsible for both the front end and the backend development, including working on a website’s design and coding architecture.
• As a full stack developer, you are responsible for database management which includes both the creation and maintenance of databases by using database management systems.

Job description

As a full stack developer, you basically function as both the bridge between the front- and backend of a website and its general manager. You are not only versed in all things front- and backend, but you also oversee and manage the work of the respective IT experts. Although you are also responsible for design work and the coding architecture – some of the responsibilities of front-end and back-end developers – your main job is to ensure that all website processes run smoothly. Technically, you need the combined knowledge of front- and backend processes since you are dealing with a website’s “full stack”.

Responsibilities

• Version Control
• API Development
• Backend Development
• Frontend Development
• Testing and Debugging
• Database Management
• Deployment and DevOps
• Performance Optimisation
• Managing Databases/Servers
• Improving Application Responsiveness

Different types of Full Stack Developers

• Traditional Full Stack Developer
• JavaScript Full Stack Developer
• Python Full Stack Developer
• Mobile Full Stack Developer
• PHP Full Stack Developer

Salary

If you work full-time in full stack development in the UK, you can factor in a starting salary of ￡36,000. With experience and training, this can increase to ￡57,000 annually. As with any job, your employment form, experience, and training are only some of the factors influencing what you will earn each year. Typically, your employer also dictates your salary height – the bigger the company, the higher the salaries tend to be.

Moreover, your location can be another aspect you need to keep in mind since the annual salaries for full stack developers can vary depending on the region. As with a lot of IT jobs, London and the Greater London Area pay salaries that are considerably higher and can amount to ￡67,000 per annum.

Working Hours

Your job as a full stack developer can be a classic 9 to 5 job which you perform from Monday to Friday. Your total working hours therefore amount to 35 to 40 a week – if you work full-time. Towards project completion or in case of emergencies, you may be asked to work evenings and maybe also weekends. This, you need to discuss as part of your job interview to ensure that both you and your employer are on the same side when it comes to work outside the regular office hours.

Employers

Be it startups, small- or medium sized businesses or large organisations like Google and Amazon: as a full stack developer, you can find employment with pretty much all companies and company sizes. You can therefore go job hunting in the financial sector, e-commerce, retail, education, healthcare, and many more. Due to the sheer limitless options, we highly recommend that you check your compatibility when it comes to your future employer’s needs, expectations, and values.

Working Remotely as a Full Stack Engineer

Besides, there is another factor that can influence your working hours and your employers. Due to COVID-19, remote work started as a necessity and is now offered by various employers. If you want to work as a full stack engineer, remote work may be an option which you should discuss with your employer.

Note that there are no laws binding employers to grant remote work. However, if you work remotely, you all need to be aware that your weekly working hours do not exceed 48 hours. Remote work can further give you the option of flexible start and finish times which you also need to discuss with your employer.

Qualifications

To become a fully-qualified full stack developer in the UK, you can choose between a university degree, a college course, or an apprenticeship. Each of these options requires GCSE pass grades in relevant subjects, such as ICT (information and communication technology) and English. If you want to enrol at university, you will benefit from the equivalent A levels which you should have sat in IT-related subjects. 

Proficiency in coding languages and (third-party) libraries should also be part of your hard skills when working in full stack development. Besides JavaScript, you should know your way around HTML, PHP, and CSS. You will perfect your knowledge of these and further software and tools during your education and further training.

Skills

Communication skills must be among your competencies if you want to work as a full stack developer. After all, you need to a) write technical coding for websites and b) communicate what you are doing to your colleagues and employers. Where the latter are concerned, preferably in a slightly less techie way. Speaking of employers: as an unofficial rule, the required skills vary which is why you need to make sure your skills match those in the job ads. With this in mind, you now find out which competencies these may be.

Creative Thinking

Working as a full stack developer includes working on and with a website’s frontend. This is basically a company’s calling card. It needs to be optically appealing to attract new customers and bind existing ones. Creativity from your side is needed to ensure the most pleasing frontend that also meets your employer’s and his/her customers’ expectations. Your creative thinking in designing a frontend does not only include computer, laptop, and table optics but can further extend to mobile devices. Make sure that your creative ideas work on any of the mentioned devices.

Programming Skills

As a full stack developer, you hold all the website cards and work on both the frontend and the backend. These two vital parts of a website require coding, be it for a user-friendly and engaging interface (UI) that contributes to a satisfying user experience (UX) or backend’s coding architecture. In-depth knowledge of all coding languages is necessary if you want to work, succeed, and advance in this job. 

Patience

Although coding may be your absolute passion, it can be challenging as well. Besides, it can be very monotonous since you will perform this task almost daily. Besides, coding is known to be quite time-consuming and requires all of your attention and patience. If you love work where results appear within minutes, the job of a full stack developer might not be quite your perfect fit. If, on the other hand, you have the patience of a saint and can wait for results, you and this job will fit perfectly.

Career Path

Although you benefit from a web development-related education, you can also become a full stack developer without an IT background. Whatever your approach, just keep in mind that further training will play a role in your full stack development career.

Getting into this profession, advancing and maybe even fast-tracking your career is interconnected to the attendance of boot camps, and maybe even a postgraduate degree. With work experience, you can progress to more senior roles with more responsibilities. Equally, you can go freelance and offer your full stack development expertise as a consultant.

Educational Background

Employer requirements for full stack developers in the UK can range from expecting an undergraduate or even postgraduate degree to applicants who have successfully completed an apprenticeship or a college diploma. All approaches have their advantages when it comes to advancing on the career ladder. If you are a bookworm, enrolling at university will suit you best. Here, you can study for a Bachelor’s degree in web design or web development.

If you want to get practical insights alongside theoretical knowledge, an apprenticeship or college diploma tend to be better fits for you. Appropriate apprenticeships can be completed in DevOps, web development, software development, or software engineering. College courses can include T levels in web development and web design, a Level 3 diploma in web development, and/or a Level 4 diploma in software development.

Training

With your education finished, you need to look into further training for full stack developers. There are various institutions in the UK that offer boot camps where you can earn accredited qualifications and certifications. Among the most popular ones are Le Wagon and Northcoders. 

Besides, you can attend boot camps at the University of Edinburgh or the London School of Emerging Technology. Edinburgh University currently offers an online boot camp focusing on JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and React, whereas the London School of Emerging Technology offers Full Stack Java courses that you can complete in four to thirteen months. Keep in mind that all further training is, unfortunately, not for free. Depending on the institution, fees can start at around ￡2,700.  

Continuous Learning

A great deal of your learning is covered by your education and further training. Even with the relevant knowledge, you must keep on learning to boost your professional development. We have already given you some boot camp options that are part of your continuous learning curve in full stack development. Besides, you must invest more time into backend languages like Python, Ruby, and Hypertext Preprocessor as well as broadening your knowledge of frameworks and coding languages used by (third-party) libraries. A strong knowledge of design should be another “subject” you invest time and effort in.

A Day in the Life of a Full Stack Developer

Your day in full stack development tends to start early, you should be sitting in front of your computer at around 9 a.m. After you have checked the day’s schedule and most pressing tasks, you can quickly browse your various inboxes before you start focusing on other tasks, among which can be the following three.

Scrum Meetings

A scrum meeting can be a part of your job if you work with so-called agile software development. This approach involves various aspects ranging from customer feedback to a website’s continuous improvement. Scrum meetings are similar to traditional team meetings but tend to be a lot shorter. Typically, you, your team, and other involved departments have about 15 minutes to discuss ongoing projects, looming deadlines, and issues that need addressing and fixing. If this meeting form is part of your company’s setup, this task will occur daily.

Development Work

After everything has been discussed in this meeting, you start your daily development tasks. This can include writing code for the front or backend or checking which coding already in place needs testing, debugging, and fixing. Besides, you may have to liaise with other experts who are in charge of either frontend or backend. Depending on what else needs doing, you will spend a considerable amount of time on development work throughout your day.

Project Documentation

Being a full stack developer means that you have the overall knowledge of what goes on with a website. However, other people need to know how to use said website and can also benefit from troubleshooting options if things go haywire. This means that you are responsible for project documentation where you write down and/or update technical and user manuals.  

Tips for Thriving as a Full Stack Developer

You may think that you now have all the info you need to successfully work in full stack development. Although you are right, of course, we still have a few aces up our sleeves – three valuable tips for thriving and advancing in this profession:

• Version control systems
• Cutting-edge tools
• Open source projects

Version Control Systems

Version control systems play an integral role in your job and your success. They support you when it comes to source code change management. Knowing your way around Git, Mercurial, Subversion (SVN), and Perforce helps you to backtrack source code changes quickly and efficiently. The mentioned programs also help you to collaborate with other involved departments when it comes to branching and more.

Cutting-Edge Tools

Which sounds all Greek to us probably makes a lot of sense to you. If you want to thrive in full stack development, you need to be the absolute coding and language whizz when it comes to frontend/backend development and functionality. By knowing your way around CSS and JavaScript, for example, you already know more than most other people involved in a website project. 

But that is not all. Full stack development experts highly recommend that you use JavaScript frameworks connected to the frontend which are currently all the rage: React, Angular, and Vue. Each of these tools is connected to the big players, namely Google (Angular), Facebook (React) and Evan You (Vue). Combined with your other IT expertise, this will certainly help you thrive as a full stack developer.

Open Source Projects

Various so-called open source projects operate in the UK and globally. Among those are Ruby on Rails and React, and these two also form part of your overall full stack development knowledge. Contributing to said open source projects gives you the chance to improve your coding skills, for example. How so? By contributing your knowledge, you access tips and expertise of other contributors to an open source project. Moreover, being part of such a project is the perfect way to network in the IT world.

Frequently Asked Questions