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Full Stack Developer: Requirements, Salaries, Job Options in 2022

Author David Pierini Esq. |

June 24, 2022

Day in and day out, countless businesses are fighting for tech talent and are ready to make competitive offers to recruit all-star software developers. But today’s article is not about these businesses. We’ll be looking at this race from the other side — from the perspective of a full stack developer. 

If becoming a multi-talented tech professional is something that interests you, read on. Here, you’ll learn all about the requirements to become a full stack developer, the current demand, job responsibilities, the average salary, and a typical day of work. 

Contents:

    Demand for Full Stack Developers in 2022

    Data confirms what already seems true — full stack developers are in high demand. There are more than 45,000 open positions for full stack developers in the USA alone. You can imagine how many more companies are looking for candidates to fit this position worldwide. “Full stack developer” is also on the list of top emerging jobs according to LinkedIn’s 2022 Jobs report. 

    As for the future prospects, The US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that the job market for web developers will be growing by 13% (at least up till 2030), which is faster than average. Once again, you can extrapolate this data to the rest of the world and guess the true scope of demand.

    Full Stack Developer Requirements and Responsibilities

    The full stack developer job description may look different based on the company that is hiring. But on the whole, there are overlapping full stack developer responsibilities that are applied to most projects:

    • Seeing through the entire process from conception to finished software solutions;
    • Working with development and product teams;
    • Working with graphic designers;
    • Writing technical documentation;
    • Providing technical leadership and ensuring agreed standards;
    • Developing the back-end and front-end of a website, including app architecture;
    • Designing user interactions;
    • Designing and developing APIs;
    • Troubleshooting, debugging, and upgrading codebases;
    • Conducting releases;
    • Helping to improve security, maintenance, and scalability.

    Average Salary of a Full Stack Developer in 2022

    The average salary of a full-stack developer depends on multiple factors, the most impactful of which are the level of seniority and the country of employment. 

    According to Payscale, the median salary is $67,174/year, with around $100,000/year on the upper end and $40,000/year on the lower end. The upper and lower bands roughly correspond to the salaries of a senior and junior developer, respectively. 

    We won’t be able to go through the full list of countries, so let’s narrow it down to six countries in different parts of the world. 

    Source: Career Foundry

    The USA

    The USA is the highest-paying country in North America, where full stack developers are paid $102,236/year on average. The highest paying cities are San Francisco ($138,178), New York ($116,975), and Washington, DC ($113,050).

    Australia

    In Australia, full stack developers can expect to be paid somewhere in the ballpark of $81,586. The average salaries in major cities are much higher than the countrywide average. In Canberra, it’s 165,842, in Sydney – $96,060, and in Melbourne – 90,693.

    Canada

    Full stack developers employed in Canada receive $68,743/year on average. The average salary in Toronto is $73,025, Calgary – $72,410, and Vancouver – $72,319.

    The UK

    UK employers pay an average of $67,653/year. London is the highest-paying city for full stack developers, with $82,482, Warrington comes next with $69,789.

    Germany

    Developers employed in Germany are paid an average of $73,392/year. $93,725 is the average full stack developer salary in Hamburg. In Berlin, it’s $84,818, and in Munich – $83,264.

    India

    And finally, the average salary for full stack developers is $8,253. Employers in Hyderabad pay $11,418 on average, in Bangalore—$11,145, and in Pune—$10,558.

    Skill Requirements for a Full Stack Developer

    Full stack developer education requirements vary from company to company. It can be helpful to have a graduate degree in  Computer Science, Math, Physics, or Engineering. But many companies don’t even pay attention to education.

    What’s certain is that there are specific skills that are practically non-negotiable whenever a candidate applies for a full stack position. 

    Languages and Frameworks

    A full stack developer works with both the front end and back end of a web application. So, they should know at least a few of these languages ​​for back-end development:

    • PHP
    • Python
    • C++
    • Ruby
    • Java
    • .Net

    The job also requires proficiency in fundamental front-end technologies, such as: 

    • HTML
    • CSS
    • JavaScript

    Frameworks and Libraries

    Familiarity with frameworks and libraries is always favorable in hiring prospects. Front-end frameworks and libraries that are worth adding to your toolbox are:

    • AngularJS
    • Bootstrap
    • jQuery
    • React

    Popular back-end frameworks and libraries include:

    • Express
    • Django
    • Laravel
    • Rails
    • Spring
    • NodeJS

    Databases

    For most software developers, their work involves databases in some way or another. So, it’s also worth learning different tools for storing and organizing the data for a project:

    • Oracle
    • MySQL
    • MongoDB
    • PostgreSQL
    • Cloud Firestore

    Technology Stacks

    A full stack developer should be able to choose the right tech stack for any web development project. This task, in turn, requires the knowledge of at least a few stacks. Prevalent tech stacks for software development in 2022 are: 

    • LAMP – Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python
    • MEAN – MongoDB, Express, Angular, and Node
    • MERN – MongoDB, Express, React, and Node
    • MEVN – MongoDB, Express, Vue, and Node
    • Serverless Stack (SST) – JavaScript code running on AWS Lambda

    Web Architecture 

    As an expert in many elements, a full stack developer is expected to know about the structural elements and user interface elements of a web application, such as single-page applications (SPAs), microservices, serverless architectures, and more. 

    Fundamentals of Designs

    Graphic design skills — including UI & UX design, prototypes, and scalability — are the cherry on top. It’s also helpful to learn the basics of Photoshop, Figma, and Sketch. This helps developers reduce their dependence on designers and speed up certain tasks. 

    Soft Skills

    Social, interpersonal, and business skills are sometimes as important as hard technical skills. All of these can be useful for any web development role: 

    • Time management
    • Attention to detail
    • Effective communication 
    • Problem-solving
    • The ability to work in a team
    • Multitasking
    • Creative vision
    • Patience

    Typical Work of a Full Stack Developer

    A full stack developer’s job can be structured in different ways, sometimes guided by the project’s requirements and, at other times, by the worker’s preferences.  

    Here are a few employment scenarios. 

    Office vs. Remote

    Ever since the pandemic, the majority of full stack developer jobs have become between 80% and 100% remote. Some companies are specifically looking for remote developers. But there are also arrangements in which the employer will let you work remotely after you’ve been with the company for a while.

    Remote workers usually receive the same benefits package, with full insurance coverage in their home country.

    Part-Time vs. Full-Time

    There are job listings for both. But generally, full-time is preferred, especially for bigger, more demanding projects. For comparison, there are 55 times more full-time full stack developer jobs on Indeed than there are part-time jobs.

    Contract vs. Temporary

    Once again, you’ll be able to find jobs on both sides. Companies that lack the funds to hire in-house developers will opt for freelancers as necessary to complete small projects. Although, permanent positions in dedicated software companies are considered more reliable. 

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    Final Thoughts

    If you find yourself on edge wondering how to get into the industry, hopefully, this article is a good start on your career journey.

    To sum up, the requirements to be a full stack developer includes being a highly skilled expert who can handle everything related to web development. This position requires being a jack of all trades — front end, back end, databases, and more.

    The demand for developers shows no sign of stopping, so it might be a good time for you to work on a broad range of skills across the stack. 

    FAQ

    Which language is needed for a full-stack developer?

    The full stack developer job requirements imply at least some fluency in different key programming languages, such as PHP, Python, Ruby, Java, Rust, JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and SQL.

    What is needed for a full-stack developer?

    The requirements of full stack developers can be boiled down to the knowledge of and experience in front-end and back-end languages, web frameworks, and database technology, as well as communication and problem-solving skills.

    How much experience does a full-stack developer need?

    Some employers will require 2+ years of experience for a junior full stack developer and 5-9 years for seniors.

    How much do you make as a full-stack developer?

    The median salary is $67,174/year, although the figures vary depending on the position in the company and the country of employment. The highest-paying country for this position is the USA.

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