Backend Developer Checklist

A list of topics/concepts that (most) backend developers should be familiar with.

The Basics

• Master at least one modern programming language, backend framework & database.
• In 2020: Javascript, Python, Ruby are all a good place to start. But get familiar with other programming languages (especially other paradigms).
• Practice writing code and solving problems. A lot. Codewars, CodeChef, Leetcode are all great platforms to get started.
• Build (a lot of) small side-projects, but go big once in a while (e.g build a clone of Youtube or WhatsApp).
• Slow code is bad (with few exceptions), learn how to properly use common algorithms and data structures.

Version Control (i.e Git)

• Make it a habit to commit often and early.
• Commits with too many changes are not good (again commit early and often).
• Writing good commit messages is also important. Look up a convention and stick to it.
• Not putting all your code in one branch is important. Learn Gitflow (or equivalent).
• If you're planning to work with a team (hopefully), learn how to use Pull Requests.
• Giving and receiving feedback about code is key, learn how to do it (and practice a lot).

Databases

• Being good at databases is not about using Postgres over MySQL or MongoDB over Postgres.
• It's about good database design, it's about writing efficient queries and it's about building a reliable backup system (among other things).
• Learn how to deploy a database, migrate a database, make schema changes without unleashing hell (see migrations).
• Get familiar with both SQL and NoSQL (and when to use each one).
• Don't write slow search queries. Learn about indexing.
• Learn to use (or live with) an existing ORM. They are here to stay.

Deployment

• Practice deploying on a VPS (DigitalOcean is a good place to start, Heroku doesn't count).
• Look into SSH keys, how to generate one, how to use it, how to disable root login.
• Learn server security and networking best practices, how a firewall works.

Automated Testing

• A good understanting why testing is important.
• Get familiar with the basic types of tests (unit, integration, performance tests ...)
• Learn few tools and libraries that makes writing tests easy.
• Writing tests is one thing, running them is a whole different thing. Get yourself familiar with Continuous Integration.

API Design

• RESTful and JSON is the new normal when it comes to API. Start there.
• Like almost everything else in software, API Design has best practices and conventions. Look those up.
• Don't implement only the happy case, send an error code and/or message when things go wrong.
• GrapQL is an interesting take on implementing an API, definitely get familiar with that.

Code Readability

• Get familiar with the right (and wrong) way to organize your code.
• How you name files and folders is critical (for your teammates). Think it through before you click save.
• Learn and stick to (your team, programming language, framework) conventions.
• For example don't use Java conventions while writing Python code.
• Comments are important. But code as documentation is even better (when possible).

Communication

• Writing is only half the job. Being able to explain your ideas is super important.
• Practice explaining complex technical concepts and implementations. Your team will be grateful.
• Get familiar with giving and receiving feedback about code, yes it's uncomfortable but really important.
• There is an art to giving and receiving feedback, get familiar with the basics.

Something missing?

Don't hesitate to open a PR and share your thoughts.