Top 5 must-have skills for a backend developer in 2021:
In this modern world, with modern tools and technologies, it has been proven many times that backend developers no longer need to know their way through different technologies, languages, frameworks, and of course, algorithms only.
There are other top skills you need to master in addition to all your technical know-how and algorithmic thinking skills:
This article will explore the most critical technical and non-technical skills for a backend developer and why it is crucial to learn these skills in today’s ever-changing world of technologies and tools.
Recently, I wrote on the 5 must-have skills for developers, and you need to read that one before jumping into this one.
5 Must-Have Skills For Backend Developers 2021
Let’s dive right into it.
Before we dive in, if you’re a backend developer or looking at delving into this career path, join other developers to receive daily articles on backend development that will boost your productivity.
Technical Skills
I know this skill is obvious.
Before you can even call yourself a backend developer, you should already have many technical skills, including different programming languages, frameworks, and tools.
I will explore a little more on the different skills under technical skills that I feel are necessary to learn as a backend developer.
Following are the skills you require to become a back end developer:
Servers
A back-end developer needs to be exposed to handling different servers such as Apache, Nginx, IIS servers, tomcat, etc. Good knowledge of the different configurations is good.
Databases and Cache
You cannot become a good backend developer without a good knowledge of Databases and how they work, different SQL statements, and how to optimize them.
The knowledge of various DBMS technology is one of the important Backend developer skills.
A good backend developer should also know Caching mechanisms using different cache engines such as Redis, Memcache, etc.
Redis is widely used for this purpose.
Software Stack
Software stack, of course, is essential. A backend developer needs to master one or many server-side programming languages.
There are many general things you need to learn in any programming language you decide to choose.
This backend development article gives you a detailed outline of what you need to learn in a programming language to master it.
Operating System
Good knowledge of the operating system you will be using for your development is paramount.
Sometimes, you will want to twerk some Operating System configurations to install necessary packages or libraries.
There are many operating systems out there, but I recommend starting and learning Linux Operating Systems if you’re looking at jumping into the backend development career.
Web Development Skills
Even as a backend developer, you still need to be very comfortable with many web development terms and technologies, such as HTML, CSS, and many other frontend libraries.
You also need to understand the full lifecycle of web development.
If you already have a hand full of knowledge on these different topics, you’re already a backend developer.
You can follow this roadmap to backend development for a complete guide.
Detail Oriented
A good back-end developer is very detailed oriented in many ways, not just paying attention to details but also in my ways.
A backend developer should have a great knowledge of accessibility and should always be security compliant.
A good backend developer should be well organized, detail-oriented, multi-task, excellent time-management, planning, and prioritization.
Research
Another important skill for a back-end developer is researching and coming up with relevant information and solution to problems.
Backend Development is a logical and tedious job that has to deal with data and data manipulations.
The ability to run different types of research and come up with the best solution to a given problem is a great skill.
When a task is assigned to a back-end developer, it is your responsibility to understand the task at hand by generating user stories, best tools, stack for the job, best database, and type of databases to use for efficiency.
Since different tasks require different toolset and skillset, research skill is a must skill.
Communication Skills
The importance of communication cannot be overemphasized.
Every developer, including backend developers, must be great at communication to express and communicate effectively with team members and users.
Communication is a form of interaction and exchange of information.
Since you’re great in your technical skill, it will be difficult for people, your teammate, and your colleague to understand you without proper communication.
So as back-end developers, we rely solely on proper communication to gain insight into the user’s perspective.
We rely on feedback, thoughts, and ideas, which are all done through adequate communication.
Team Player
One of the most important skills you need as a back-end developer is connecting, network, and collaborating with other team members efficiently.
Conclusion
Above are my 5 must-have skills for backend developers 2021.
Team building and networking with others in the industry is a must-have skill that can help boost your productivity, increase your knowledge-based, or widen your horizon in your career.
And lastly, your coding skill is as essential as your career itself. You need to make sure you’re on top of the latest trends and practice extensively to stay relevant in the industry.
If you can start working on improving these 5 areas of your career, your career will skyrocket even more than the way it is now.
Let me hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading.
Originally published at https://masteringbackend.com on May 1, 2021.
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