As software solutions continue to expand and become more and more essential to the daily activities of people around the world, the role of the backend developer continues to be on the rise.
In This Article
Back End Development Jobs: Skills and Qualifications to Pursue
Education and Experience to Become a Back-End Developer
Job Opportunities and Career Growth for Back-End Software Developer Jobs
As software solutions continue to expand and become more and more essential to the daily activities of people around the world, the role of the backend developer continues to be on the rise. A savvy, skilled software engineer is the one who is writing the code that gives life to the websites and apps that we use every day for just about everything we do. Without backend developers, ideas for new software applications remain concepts. It’s only in the behind-the-scenes coding and engineering work that brings these apps and software solutions to fruition so that people and business can benefit from them.
In this article, you’ll learn more about the exciting growth happening in the backend development job market, the specifics of what the role of a web engineer or software builder entails, and tips for pursuing a successful career as a backend developer.
<h2 id="skills">Back End Development Jobs: Skills and Qualifications to Pursue</h2>
As experts in building a strong backbone for software, backend engineers need a variety of skills that tie into creating websites and data management systems that function smoothly and securely. As a backend software engineer, you are responsible for ensuring that the program, website, or app works correctly through the proper configuration of the behind-the-scenes databases, coding, application programming interfaces (APIs), website architecture, and servers. When all these elements work as they should, the user enjoys a seamless user experience.
As a part of this job type in backend design, you will:
Create high-quality coding
Back-end developers need a mastery of various programming languages so they can complete the codes that make things happen on the front end of a website or app. Knowledge of several coding languages, including Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, C#, and PHP, is essential. Effective coding helps ensure that browsers can easily bring up websites and apps that work for users with ease.
Be familiar with frameworks, libraries, databases, and servers
Websites, software solutions, and apps run on a variety of codes working together, making the organization of what happens on the back-end key to smooth, streamlined performance. It’ll be beneficial to gain technical skills in a variety of frameworks‚ such as Laravel, Django, Spring, Ruby on Rails, Meteor, Node.js, and others. You’ll also need to understand how data storage works, and be able to manage database and server programs, such as MongoDB, MySQL, Oracle, Apache, NGINX, Lighttpd, Microsoft IIS, and other tools of different kinds.
Practice quality assurance testing
The work of a backend engineer or staff software engineer happens behind-the-scenes, but the results are definitely front and center as people interact with the website, app, or software you maintain. A vital part of your role, therefore, will be to make sure everything is working as smoothly as possible. This includes planning and running tests, double checking that user interfaces are optimized, ensuring everything runs satisfactorily on different browsers and devices, and checking that the site or app is efficient and quick as it operates. If issues arise, you’ll be troubleshooting the problem and fixing bugs, so being detail-oriented and effective at problem-solving is a plus.
Engage in successful cross-functional teamwork
The server-side developer works with a variety of other team members, including front-end developers, product managers, principal architects, and website testers, to ensure the website or app works as it should. So in addition to technical skills, you’ll benefit from being comfortable with collaboration, communication, and coordinating tasks so that together, the team can create positive results. You may even be called upon to train junior software developers, as well as to communicate about issues and QA results to stakeholders and project managers.
<h2 id="education">Education and Experience to Become a Back-End Developer</h2>
To establish yourself successfully in a career in back-end engineering, it pays to become as skilled as you can. While this role doesn’t require you to have a specific degree for entry-level positions, it can help to have a degree in computer science, software engineering, or related fields, especially if you’d like to pursue mid-level positions or higher as your career progresses.
However you go about learning to be a web developer—whether it’s college, bootcamps, mentoring, interning, or volunteering—keep in mind that to be effective at behind-the-scenes tech engineering, you’ll want to gain a strong working knowledge of a variety of tools and architectures, including website hosting options and how they work, the frameworks and templates on which coding is built, the databases that websites and apps pull from as they perform different tasks, and any other skills that your favorite companies are looking for in a back-end software developer.
It’s also important to stay up to date on the latest technologies, which means that ongoing certifications, courses in new coding programs, and staying on top of new tools is going to be helpful. You don’t need to know more than one programming language to get started, but learning to master more than one is advantageous as it will give you greater flexibility in choosing positions.
<h2 id="growth">Job Opportunities and Career Growth for Back-End Software Developer Jobs</h2>
The back-end software developer is a lucrative career, with an average of $47.36 per hour for junior engineers to $68.27 or more per hour for a sr software engineer (a senior software engineer). That’s an average of $125,000 per year, and even higher as people grow their skills and gain experience. Opportunities to increase your income and attain promotions to roles such as senior backend engineer are strong in this area of tech, as the need to keep websites and apps functional is an ongoing need at companies of all types. Get started by searching for titles such as stack developer, stack engineer, end engineer, back end engineer, java developer, and similar phrases as you check a job description to find a fit.
While open positions are easily available in California, where many tech companies are based, remote work is also available, and choosing to live and work from a more affordable location such as Tulsa can help back-end developers maximize their salaries. And keep in mind that there are continuing chances for advancement to positions such as senior backend developer, specialists such as database administrator, senior software engineer, principal software engineer, DevOps engineer, DevOps architect, and even a C-suite role like Chief Technology Officer. The options are nearly endless for those who want more out of their tech career.
Summing It Up
All in all, backend development jobs are essential to maintain a thriving website. The ongoing need for skilled software engineers who can handle the intricacies of behind-the-scenes web architectures means you can enjoy a strong career for years to come.
Build your career success as a backend systems developer, starting today. When you create an account and upload your resume to the inTulsa Talent Network, you will receive access to all the latest job opportunities and can even set up custom job alerts as you search for your dream role.
