Currently, full-stack developers are in a high demand, since these guys are able to perform a great number of project tasks connected with front-end and back-end development. So what are the main “perks”?

• They are comfortable working with both front-end and back-end technologies;
• Generally, they have a higher salary in comparison to their colleagues in other technologies;
• They are able to manage their time and communication process efficiently.

Speaking about drawbacks, I consider the amount of time needed to acquire all the necessary knowledge to become a good full-stack developer as the most significant one.

If you would like to dig deeper and discover the entrepreneur’s side of the topic in question, feel free to check our post! I hope our insight will help shed some light as well.

With frameworks all over whether backend or front-end, fs development is no more a difficult task as it used to be. I consider myself a fs developer. I started with front-end development but eventually got a job in backend. My current stack is symfony framework - backend and javascript (angularjs , typescript) - frontend. We use doctrine ORM for db management and we seldom touch MySql queries.

Full stack developer is independent and in complex projects like the one we are working on fs developers shine.

While the scope of "Full" in "Full stack developer" is a subject of open debate, There are multiple "perks" of being open to exploring multiple parts of the stack.

First and foremost ability to handle issues and integration across the stack allows you to utilize your time better and alleviates having to go back and forth between team members. For example, in a typical web development context having basic understanding of CSS can allow backend developers to quickly fix visual regressions. Having exposure to command line and shell programming can often help in resolving deployment issues.

Being involved in multiple parts of the stack makes you more valuable from the perspective of an employer because it is common for software projects to eventually become overstaffed or understaffed during their course of evolution. Being flexible makes it easier for the project overseers to systematically distribute workforce elastically as per changing requirements.

It also implicitly becomes evident that you are open to exploring new and emergent technologies because you already have a proven track record of working across languages/frameworks/ecosystems. This contributes towards your value from the perspective of an employer.

There are no perks. It is just the need to understand both parts of the system. Unless you work in a huge company where the work is split in teams with specific responsibilities, you have no choice but to do it all. And is not easy, because each part has its own level of complexity. Because you try to do it all, there are parts that you will never be as good as a real specialist. But you will get the job done. The advantage is that you will be able to make a working product. The bad thing is that it won't be as good as it could be. On the other hand, someone has to do it, and most of the time it would have to be you. Or at least in my case... I think there are very few places where you can only do what you consider yourself to be an expert at. You will become full stack whether you like it or not.

I consider myself one because I do:

• Server management
• Database architecture
• Backend development
• Frontend scripting
• Design and User Experience
• Customer service
• More..

It took me 20 years to get to this point and being good at it, although no guru in all of it of course. I was lucky to have a passion since I was young, buying templates or someone to do it for me was no option, which forced me to work on all aspects in order to make what I wanted.

There is nothing fancy about it. In fact, being FS Developer means, you are responsible for every little thing, which is not so easy when it comes to managing projects which are not small! And coping up with technologies will become a challenge considering that you have to study and work out lot of frameworks to keep you on the current. So for me, FS Developer is more of unnecessary burden than an advantage.

But I'm not staying it doesn't have any advantage. It sure does, but it is not visible to my eyes. Call me too old, I'd still prefer UI/UX guy to handle design rather than me go and fiddle with it!