In the web development industry, the term "Full Stack Developer" has become extremely popular. Everyone wants to be one, and companies are looking to hire them at any cost. But is it really possible to be an expert in everything? Or are we promoting a false expectation that benefits companies more than developers?
What is a Full Stack Developer?
In theory, a Full Stack Developer is someone who can work on both the frontend and backend of an application. They handle everything from visual design to databases and server infrastructure.
Sounds impressive, right? However, the reality is far more complex.
Specialization is Inevitable
It’s true that some developers can manage multiple areas of an application. But the idea that one person can be an expert in frontend, backend, databases, security, DevOps, and more is highly debatable.
Frontend: This isn’t just HTML and CSS anymore. Today, it involves working with frameworks like React, Vue, or Angular, along with in-depth knowledge of performance and accessibility.
Backend: Here, we’re talking about system architecture, database management, APIs, and sometimes even complex algorithms and data structures.
DevOps: This involves server configuration, monitoring, deployment automation, and knowledge of infrastructure tools like AWS, Docker, and Kubernetes.
Pretending that one person can master all these areas at the level of a specialist is, at the very least, unrealistic.
The Myth of Productivity
Often, the title of Full Stack Developer is used as a synonym for super-productivity: someone who can do the work of an entire team, but faster. But is that even possible?
Quality suffers: When you split your time between various technologies and layers of the application, the quality of each aspect is likely to decrease. You can’t be an expert in everything and maintain the highest standards.
Risk of burnout: Developers trying to handle everything often face physical and mental exhaustion. Companies tend to exploit this mentality to get "more for less" from their employees.
Is "Full Stack Developer" Just a Marketing Strategy?
The term "Full Stack Developer" has become a buzzword, often used in job listings to attract talent with the promise of a "complete" profile. But the reality is that many of these positions pay the same as a specialized role, even though they require far more responsibilities.
Are we setting unrealistic expectations for new developers?
Many junior developers see this title as the ultimate goal, thinking that only by being full stack will they be competitive in the job market. But is it really an advantage? In many cases, specialization is more valuable.
What Companies Really Need
Instead of seeking a "Full Stack Developer," many companies should focus on building teams that combine specialists from different areas. A good frontend developer can optimize the user experience far better than a generalist. A specialized backend developer can create a more robust and scalable architecture.
Instead of asking one person to do it all, the key lies in forming balanced teams where each member brings their own expertise.
My Opinion: The Future is Specialization
Don’t get me wrong; having knowledge in multiple areas is valuable. But the idea that you can be a complete expert in frontend, backend, DevOps, and design is a myth that benefits companies more than developers.
If you want to succeed in the development world, I advise you to specialize in one area and master that field. Specialization will make you stand out and ensure a more stable and less exhausting career.
Conclusion
The term "Full Stack Developer" sounds appealing, but in practice, it’s nearly impossible to be genuinely competent in so many areas. Companies should reconsider what they need in their teams, and developers should focus on specializing in what they are truly passionate about.
What do you think? Is it realistic to be a Full Stack Developer today? Or should we stop using this term to avoid unrealistic expectations?
P.S. If you want to dive deeper into topics like this, make sure to check out my blog at niaxus.com for more web development insights!
Top comments (36)
I appreciate your perspective, but I have to disagree. As a full stack developer myself, I've found that it's not necessarily more important to specialize in backend or frontend over being a full stack developer. Both specialized and full stack roles offer valuable opportunities, depending entirely on the product requirements and the development phase.
In the initial development phase, having dedicated backend and frontend specialists can indeed provide a strong foundation and streamline the process. However, when the product enters the maintenance and expansion phase, the versatility of full stack developers becomes significantly more valuable. In that phase, with less stringent time constraints and tighter budgets, full stack developers can efficiently fill both roles, providing flexibility that helps optimize resources.
Looking towards the future, particularly as AI and large language models (LLMs) evolve, full stack developers will have an advantage in utilizing these tools effectively across both backend and frontend domains. Rather than needing to remember all the intricate details of either end, leveraging logical and engineering skills will be more beneficial in navigating the entire stack.
So, I think it's not about promoting one over the other but recognizing that specialization and full stack development have their own value at different stages of product development.
You are actually proving his point. Specialized developers will build a great new product, "Full Stack" generalists just keep it running. If you're a developer that "just keep it running" seems good, then yes there is a space for you.
You are right, but there is a problem today because so many jobs think that full-stack is necessary to know a lot about architecture and DevOps. I don't understand why this is happening, but this situation is driving the developers to have to know technologies that probably never going to use because the architecture o DevOps guy not are the people to allow to anyone to change whatever config in the project.
DevOps should not be a dedicated role. If a developer creates an application, back-end or front-end, the should know how to build, test and deploy said application via DevOps processes.
That is interesting, but what is the level to consider, including the developer's experience and the time since he/she started to work in the current job, knowledge of the flow of the CI/CD, and other aspects of the app?
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I guess we need a balance between the two extremes
Full-stack developers aren't experts at everything but can contribute productively at all levels of the stack. Such developers exist and I work with a lot of them. Everyone has strengths, weaknesses, and preferences though, regarding where they contribute. "Full-stack developer" is officially my job title but I'm definitely backend leaning. I do a fair amount of frontend and DevOps stuff too though.
Full-stack developers bring flexibility and a unique perspective compared to more specialized developers, but usually they are jack of all trades and master of either none, or ideally one.
Id argue that typically full stack developers generally lean more towards the backend than the front-end. Because the backend is often more complex and in-depth than front-end development and requires more learning and experience to master than just cobbling together a UI
It's hard to architect systems if you can't reason with all parts of them to some level.
I've regularly created entire systems single-handedly, so I find it hard to understand how someone would not want to understand the logic across the entire piece.
Software has always been a freedom for me, the ability to build anything, so I want to be able to construct entire things, not only parts of them. That said, clearly, a lot of your points make sense, which is why I choose to use the same language on the front and back end to reduce the cognitive load these days. That's not always been true, but now, I recognise that as a productivity boost. I also work with people who are experts in things like security and DevOps, yet I still strive to understand them and could make headway in all areas of my product's development.
I would call myself "Product developer" - I can build and reasonably manage all parts needed to deploy working product for users.
Of course it's limited to some kinds of products, not everyone.
Also, big help for me is chosen tools - Ruby in Rails calls itself One Person Framework, and for a reason.
I don't even like to label myself as any particular type of developer. I've never consciously specialised in any particular area, and have always gotten involved in whatever was necessary - be that security, database design, front end development, back end development, desktop/console game UI development, UI/UX design, etc.
I've been in this industry longer than the labels 'full stack', 'back end', and 'front end' have even existed. It used to be VERY normal for everyone to get involved in a bit of everything. I think it's a sad indicator of how ludicrously complex everything has become that specialisation has become so necessary, and even 'the norm'.
Am I front-end developer? A back-end developer? A game developer? A QA engineer? A UI designer?
I'm all, and none of these things. I'm a developer.
Because way easier to replace fullstack-overflow devs than specialists, companies just want to have standardised cogs in the machine.
"Jack of all trades, master of none".
React.js seems simple, everything seems simple if look how other people work, but to be proficient enough need to spend at least 3 years with complex enough tasks.
Today so many poorly made UIs, tnx to this trend.
This is mainly because most front end 'developers' today aren't actually developers. If you ask them to build a UI using anything but React, they cannot. If you ask them some of the principles of base JavaScript design or to pivot to a different library or framework, they struggle.
True, but same can be applied to backend developers as well.
I would have to disagree with this as well. I have been in the industry for 15+ years professionally as a "full-stack" developer. My path into tech was from a young age ripping apart old computers to get extra ram sticks to beef up my own cobbled together system. I have a passion for learning anything I can get my hands on, and learning it well enough to build performant production systems with it.
My own experience working with "specialists" is that they have not had a desire to grow and learn. They seem promising initially and do well in the specialist role, but then start to stagnate and eventually get left behind as the business progresses. Specialists may do better in a FANG environment where things are mature and slow to evolve.
The other thing I have noticed is that people with a wide range of experience are more creative and are the ones to present better ideas because they have more to draw from. Innovation occurs at the intersection of fields and requires a person that can think outside the box.
The keyword is "stack" - you dont need to know "everything". The goal is to be proficient in one tech-stack that allows you build and ship applications.
And aside from that it is good to focus deeper on one technology or area, while your colleagues do the same in different. From the company perspective it is definitely better to have couple of full-stacks in each project and only one e.g. database expert per company. When dev team gets stuck in harder task, he can ad-hoc help to unblock them. But you dont need to hire and keep one for every project you do. That wont be effective.
There is a term from DevOps - "T-shaped people" - capable of doing many things in reasonable quality (the horizontal line) while tending to be an expert in one (the vertical line).
Sounds like the author has a skill issue
I’ma full-stack developer, and not only can I write pretty powerful React components, but I can also write the advanced PostgreSQL to power them. I enjoy the frontend more, and I tend to think in frontend first (ie my “first language”), so Because of that, I put myself at 60% frontend and 40% backend.
Can you create an entire AWS environment with Cloudformation and deploy to ECS? That's truly Full-Stack and it's a pipe dream that companies use to hire one person to do 4 jobs.
I don’t think that’s really the bar in order to be able to call yourself a full-stack developer. That’s more ops, so a developer that can do that too would be DevOps. And you’re right; that's a unicorn right there, so hang on to them if you’ve got them
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