Comment by Calvin Koepke on "What are the required skillsets for a full stack developer as on 2017?"

CommentWhat are the required skillsets for a full stack developer as on 2017?

Calvin Koepke

Software engineer specializing in headless WordPress.

Sep 2, 2017

That entirely depends on the company you are applying to. Full-stack does not and cannot mean every language under the sun.

Instead, full-stack will mean what the company you are applying for needs it to mean. Is their product a Node/React application with MongoDB? Then you'll need to learn those frameworks and JavaScript really well.

Is their product built on PHP with a templating language for the frontend like Vue.js? Then learn that.

Basically, find out what stack different companies use, choose the one you like, and become sufficient in it. Then you can market yourself as a full-stack developer in that particular arena.

Because of the nuances of the term "full-stack", I've begun avoiding that title as a go-to choice — instead, I lean toward "software developer", which I think implies full-stack, but doesn't necessarily give the impression that I know everything.

In the end, do your best, and pick a specialty.

10Q

Sep 5, 2017

Isn't "full-stack" just the new name for "web developer"? Except because of mobile apps they aren't necessarily restricted to web apps these days and "web" developer no longer makes sense. A full-stack developer implies a developer who can also transition into mobile apps using web technologies. That's what I always thought, but then again it could just be a fancy moniker that caught on because it sounds nice.

Generally, full-stack is referring to the technology stack of an application. So, if that stack consists of Node/React/MongoDB, a full-stack developer would be comfortable and proficient in building a feature in all areas of the stack it touched.

A "web developer" could be assumed to be full-stack, but it's just as likely that they would not know any backend code, or frontend code.

So full-stack is just more specific.

That being said, it's definitely a buzzword and implies expert-level skills in each area — something I am pretty convinced is impossible.

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