Backend, Frontend or DevOps? How to Decide!

Summary

The video script emphasizes the importance of specialization in the field of software development to secure a job and advance one's career. It advises against the common mistake of jumping between topics without gaining a deep understanding. The script outlines three primary specializations: front end, back end, and DevOps, each with its own set of responsibilities, required skills, and potential salary. Front end development is considered the easiest to break into due to its visual nature and demand, while back end requires a strong grasp of server-side programming and databases. DevOps, the most challenging, involves both development and operations and is in high demand with a higher salary. The speaker suggests trying out each field briefly to determine personal interest and aptitude before committing to a specialization. The video also mentions the importance of mastering a field for higher earnings and briefly touches on other areas like game development and full stack development, recommending starting with one of the three main areas before branching out.

Takeaways

• 🚀 **Specialization is Key**: After learning programming fundamentals, focus on specializing in one area to qualify for jobs.
• 🌐 **Frontend Focus**: Frontend development involves building user interfaces, working closely with designers, and is often the easiest field to break into due to its visual nature.
• 🛠️ **Backend Basics**: Backend development is centered around data, security, and infrastructure, requiring a strong understanding of server-side programming and databases.
• 🤖 **DevOps Dynamics**: DevOps aims to unify development and operations through automation, continuous deployment, and monitoring, but it's the most challenging to enter due to the need for broad expertise.
• 💰 **Compensation Considerations**: While there's a salary range, focusing on mastering a field of interest is more important than choosing a role based solely on pay.
• 🔍 **Ease of Entry**: Frontend is generally considered the easiest to enter, followed by backend, with DevOps being the most difficult due to its complexity and experience requirements.
• 📈 **Demand and Supply**: There's high demand for all three specializations, but fewer qualified candidates for backend and especially DevOps roles, which can give job seekers an advantage.
• 🌟 **Personal Interest and Aptitude**: Your personality and interests play a significant role in determining which specialization might be easiest for you to master.
• 📚 **Learning Curve**: The tech stack for frontend is often simpler to learn, while backend and DevOps require a deeper understanding of complex systems and protocols.
• 🔗 **Role Responsibilities**: Each role has distinct responsibilities, with frontend focusing on user experience, backend on data and security, and DevOps on automation and infrastructure management.
• 🔧 **Tech Stack and Tools**: The required tech stack varies by role, with frontend developers needing skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and frameworks, backend in server-side languages and databases, and DevOps in automation, cloud services, and security.

Q & A

What is the common mistake that aspiring developers often make that could be holding them back from landing a job?

The common mistake is jumping from topic to topic and field to field without really understanding what they need to focus on, which makes it difficult to specialize and qualify for specific jobs.

What are the three most popular specializations in the field of software development?

The three most popular specializations are front end, back end, and DevOps.

What does a front end developer typically do?

A front end developer is responsible for building user interfaces, working with designers, and bringing a user experience to life through styling, layouts, and ensuring the look and feel of an application or product.

What are the core responsibilities of a back end developer?

A back end developer is responsible for working with data and security, writing code that is hidden from the user but critical to the infrastructure of an organization or product, working with databases, authentication, performance, and designing and implementing scalable systems.

What is DevOps and what does a DevOps engineer typically do?

DevOps is about unifying development and operations to make the product lifecycle faster by building automations, doing continuous deployment and testing, monitoring, and logging. A DevOps engineer is responsible for all operations needed to bring a product into the hands of users.

Which of the three specializations is considered the easiest to break into?

Front end development is typically considered the easiest field to break into due to the simplicity of the tech stack and the visual nature of the work.

Why might there be less competition for back end developer roles compared to front end roles?

There might be less competition for back end roles because the topics are typically harder to master, such as server-side programming languages, database systems, and building scalable systems, which means there are fewer qualified candidates for these positions.

Why is DevOps considered the most difficult specialization to break into?

DevOps is considered the most difficult to break into because it requires a strong understanding of both development and operations, including building automations, continuous integration, continuous deployment, monitoring, cloud services, and security.

What is the average salary for front end, back end, and DevOps engineers in the United States?

The average salary for a front end engineer is $107,000, for a back end engineer it's $116,000, and for a DevOps engineer it's estimated at $138,000.

What is the advice for someone who is unsure which specialization to choose?

The advice is to try each of the specializations by spending a few days building a small project in each field, and then choosing the one that interests them the most and which they feel confident committing to for the long run.

What are some of the key technologies and languages a front end developer should know?

A front end developer should know HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and likely TypeScript. They should also be familiar with different frameworks such as React, Vue, or Angular.

What are some of the key technologies and languages a back end developer should know?

A back end developer should know server-side programming languages like Python, Java, or PHP, and frameworks such as Django, Flask, or Ruby on Rails. They should also be familiar with SQL and NoSQL databases, web server technologies, API development, and cloud services like AWS or Azure.

What are some of the key technologies and languages a DevOps engineer should know?

A DevOps engineer should know about continuous integration and deployment tools like Jenkins, GitLab, and GitHub Actions, infrastructure as code tools like Terraform, containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes, cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure, scripting languages like Python or bash, and networking and security fundamentals.

Outlines

00:00

🚀 Choosing a Specialization in Software Development

The paragraph emphasizes the common mistake of jumping between topics without specialization, which can hinder job prospects. It introduces the importance of focusing on one of three popular specializations: front end, back end, or DevOps. The video aims to clarify the differences between these fields to help viewers make an informed decision about their career path. Front end development involves building user interfaces and focuses on the look and feel of applications. Back end development is centered around data and security, requiring work with databases and scalable systems. DevOps unifies development and operations through automation and continuous deployment. The paragraph also mentions JetBrains' TeamCity Pipelines as a tool for CI/CD, which is beneficial for all specializations.

05:00

🤔 The Demand and Difficulty of Specializations

This paragraph discusses the ease of entering different specializations and the demand for each role. Front end development is considered the easiest to break into due to its visual nature and simpler tech stack, although it is highly competitive. Back end development is more challenging due to the complexity of server-side programming and database management, but there's less competition and a strong demand for skilled professionals. DevOps is the most difficult specialization to enter because it requires expertise in both development and operations, including automation, CI/CD, monitoring, and security. Despite being harder to master, DevOps roles are in high demand and can command higher salaries.

10:00

💰 Salaries and Career Growth in Specializations

The paragraph provides an overview of the average salaries for front end, back end, and DevOps engineers in the United States. Front end engineers have an average salary of $107,000, back end engineers earn around $116,000, and DevOps engineers have an estimated average of $138,000. It is noted that while DevOps roles tend to pay more, they are not typically entry-level positions and require experience. The speaker advises not to choose a specialization solely based on salary but to consider personal interest and the ability to excel in the field. As experience grows, individuals in any of these roles can earn substantial salaries.

15:01

🛠️ Technical Stack and Responsibilities for Each Role

This paragraph delves into the specific responsibilities and required technical skills for front end, back end, and DevOps roles. Front end developers are responsible for user interfaces, user experience, and performance, needing skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, and frameworks like React or Angular. Back end developers work on server-side development, APIs, databases, application integration, and security, requiring knowledge in various backend languages and frameworks, SQL and NoSQL databases, and cloud services. DevOps engineers handle CI/CD, infrastructure as code, monitoring, logging, performance tuning, security, and cloud server management, necessitating familiarity with tools like Jenkins, GitLab, Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, and scripting languages like Python or bash.

🎯 Selecting the Right Specialization for You

The final paragraph advises on how to choose the right specialization. It stresses the importance of personal interest and confidence in the chosen field. For those unsure, the recommendation is to try each field with small projects and tutorials to determine which is the most engaging and feasible for long-term commitment. The speaker warns against the mistake of investing time in a field that one eventually dislikes, which can set back one's career. They also mention the availability of a software development course for those interested in any of the three fields, allowing them to pick a specialization after exploring the options.

Keywords

💡Developer Specialization

Developer specialization refers to the process of focusing on a particular area within software development to gain expertise. In the context of the video, it emphasizes the importance of choosing between front end, back end, or DevOps after learning the fundamentals of programming. It is crucial for becoming qualified for specific job roles and standing out in the competitive job market.

💡Front End Development

Front end development is the process of building the user interface and the user experience of an application. It involves creating the visual aspects and interactive elements that users engage with directly. The video mentions that front end developers work with designers and are responsible for styling, layouts, and the overall look and feel of a product. It is considered the easiest field to break into due to its visual nature and the simplicity of the tech stack required.

💡Back End Development

Back end development involves working with the server-side of applications, focusing on data, security, and the infrastructure that supports the application. Back end developers write code that is hidden from the user but is critical for the functioning of the system. The video explains that this role involves working with databases, authentication, performance, and implementing scalable systems. It is slightly more challenging to break into than front end development due to the complexity of the required knowledge.

💡DevOps

DevOps is a practice that combines software development (Dev) and IT operations (Ops) to streamline the process of building, testing, and deploying software. The video outlines that a DevOps engineer is responsible for unifying development and operations through automations, continuous deployment, testing, monitoring, and logging. It is considered the most difficult field to enter because it requires a strong understanding of both development and operations, including building automations and working in critical production environments.

💡Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD)

CI/CD is a software development practice where code changes are automatically integrated into a shared repository and then deployed to production through automated stages. The video discusses the challenges of setting up CI/CD pipelines and how tools like JetBrains' TeamCity Pipelines can simplify this process with self-tuning pipelines and a visual pipeline editor, which is particularly beneficial for developers who are not only coding but also managing deployment processes.

💡Tech Stack

A tech stack refers to the combination of technologies and programming languages used to build and run an application. The video explains that different specializations within software development require knowledge of specific tech stacks. For instance, front end developers need to know HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and possibly TypeScript, along with frameworks like React or Angular. Back end developers might work with languages like Python, Java, or PHP, and DevOps engineers require familiarity with tools for automation, cloud services, and security.

💡User Experience (UX)

User experience (UX) is the overall experience a user has when interacting with a product or service. In the context of the video, front end developers play a critical role in optimizing UX by ensuring that the interface is intuitive, accessible, and visually appealing. The video highlights that UX involves fine-tuning aspects such as button responsiveness, hover effects, and the tactile feel of interactive elements.

💡Databases

Databases are structured sets of data stored in a computer system. They are a core component of back end development, as they manage and organize the data that applications use. The video mentions that back end developers work with databases, including both SQL (Structured Query Language) and NoSQL (non-relational) databases, which are essential for building and maintaining the infrastructure of applications.

💡Cloud Services

Cloud services refer to the on-demand delivery of computing resources, including servers, storage, databases, and software, over the internet. The video discusses the role of cloud services in both back end and DevOps roles, where engineers work with platforms like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud to manage and deploy applications. Cloud services are critical for scalability, reliability, and the overall performance of applications.

💡Security

Security in the context of software development involves protecting systems and data from unauthorized access, breaches, and threats. The video emphasizes the importance of security in both back end and DevOps roles, where developers are responsible for implementing measures to safeguard the integrity and confidentiality of an application's data and infrastructure.

💡Full Stack Development

Full stack development is the practice of developing both the front end and back end of an application. The video suggests that before one can become a proficient full stack developer, they should specialize in either front end or back end development first. This approach allows developers to gain a deep understanding of one area before expanding their skills to encompass the entire application stack.

Highlights

The most common mistake beginners make is jumping from topic to topic without focusing on a specialization.

After learning programming fundamentals, it's important to specialize to qualify for jobs.

Popular specializations are front end, back end, and DevOps.

Frontend focuses on building user interfaces and is often considered the easiest field to break into.

Back end deals with data and security, requiring a strong understanding of server-side programming and databases.

DevOps unifies development and operations, focusing on automation and continuous deployment.

Regardless of specialization, some DevOps work is inevitable when pushing applications to production.

JetBrains offers TeamCity Pipelines, a solution for CI/CD with self-tuning pipelines.

TeamCity Pipelines is free during public beta and can significantly reduce run time with its Smart Pipeline Optimizer.

Frontend development is highly in-demand but also competitive, with an average salary of $107,000 in the US.

Back end is more difficult to break into but often has less competition and an average salary of $116,000.

DevOps is the most challenging with high demand and an average salary of $138,000, but requires experience.

Choosing a specialization should be based on interest and ability to master the field rather than salary alone.

Frontend developers need skills in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and frameworks like React or Angular.

Back end developers should know server-side languages, databases, and possibly cloud services.

DevOps engineers require knowledge of CI/CD tools, cloud services, scripting, and security.

Other fields like game development or robotics are niche and typically require prior development experience.

Full stack development is a combination of frontend and backend skills, best approached after specializing in one.

To choose a specialization, try short projects in each field to see which interests you most.

Transcripts

If you're trying to

become a developer, chances

are you're making this one mistake,

and it's likely what's holding

you back from landing a job.

Now that mistake is jumping

from topic to topic and field to field

without really understanding

what it is that you need to focus on.

Now, that's exactly why

I'm making this video.

Once you've learned

the fundamentals of programing,

you need to work on specializing.

So you're actually qualified

for the jobs that are out there.

Now the most popular specializations

to choose from are front end,

back end or DevOps.

Sure,

there are hundreds of different areas

that you could get into,

but most of them are going to be routed

from one of these three specializations.

So now let me break down the difference

between each of these three fields.

You understand

which one to go with

and how to actually start

making some serious progress.

So let's start with a quick overview.

Frontend is all about building

user interfaces, working with designers,

and bringing a user experience to life.

You're going to be doing

a lot of styling layouts, and overall,

you'll be responsible

for the look

and feel of an application or product.

Now, back end is all about data

and security.

You'll be responsible for writing code

that's mostly hidden from the user,

but that's critical

to the infrastructure

of an organization or a product.

Now with backend,

you're going to be working with

databases, authentication, performance,

and designing and implementing

scalable systems.

And then we have DevOps,

which is about unifying development

and operations.

DevOps is all about making the life

cycle faster by building automations,

doing continuous deployment

and testing,

monitoring and logging,

and really responsible

for all of the operations

you need to perform

to actually bring a product

into the hands of users.

Now, regardless of which of these paths

you choose,

you'll eventually do some DevOps work.

You'll probably have

some kind of application

that you actually want

to push out to production.

Now, when you do that,

that's going to involve

configuring, monitoring,

and building an entire pipeline

that allows you

to do continuous integration

and continuous deployment.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you,

this is a huge pain.

Now, fortunately for us, the sponsor

of this video,

JetBrains, has a solution

with Team City Pipelines.

This offers a new intelligent approach

to CI and CD

by providing self

tuning pipelines

that won't ever break your dev flow.

Best of all, it's free

during the public beta to try it out.

Now, whether you prefer using Yaml

for configuring your pipelines

or you want to set them up visually via

the brand new Visual

Pipeline Editor team,

Citi Pipelines will get you

to a functioning pipeline in just minutes.

This will save you time on endless

googling and documentation reading.

Not to mention the team.

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thanks to the Smart Pipeline Optimizer.

It can even suggest

optimal configurations

and provide

automatic test parallelization.

Get started with Team Citi

Pipelines today for free

by clicking the link in the description

and signing up with your GitHub account.

Now let's get right

into what you guys care about.

Which of these fields

is the easiest to get into

and which of them pay the best?

Now we'll start with difficulty

and kind of the ease of entrance

into these three different fields.

Now the truth is

that your personality type

and what you're interested in

is really going to dictate

which of these is easier

for you to master.

But regardless,

I'm going to give you

the kind of common opinion

on which of these is easier.

So we can start with frontend development,

which is typically considered

the easiest field to break into.

Now the reason for

that is the tech stack you need to learn

is the simplest to pick up.

It's also very visual.

That means as a beginner,

you can immediately

see exactly

what it is that you're building

and people

who are just getting into programing

find that this is a bit more intuitive

and it's easier for them to pick up

and learn these different languages.

Now, with that in mind, frontend

development is extremely in-demand.

Companies always need frontend developers,

but that also means

that there's a lot of competition.

This is usually

what most people will start learning

if they want to break

into the tech industry really quickly.

So you're going to be competing

with a lot of other junior engineers

for those entry level positions.

That said, it's

still a great one to go with,

and it probably is one of the fastest ways

to get a tech job.

Now, back end, on

the other hand,

is slightly more difficult to break into,

and that's

because you need to have

a strong understanding of server side

programing languages,

database systems, performance

in building scalable systems.

These topics

are typically harder to master,

or at least people find them

more difficult.

And I will say that

there are slightly less roles

for backend developers.

With that said,

there is still a ton of demand,

and because this is more difficult,

you'll often find

that there is less competition

and because there's less qualified people

for the role.

Now with backend,

there's so many different stacks

that you can learn

so many different languages

you can pick up,

and that allows you

to really specialize yourself

for certain types of roles.

And you can stand out compared

to a more generic frontend role

where everyone's going to know JavaScript,

everyone's going to know HTML.

So compared to frontend,

slightly less roles,

but it could be easier

if not the same to land

a position in backend development.

Now lastly, we have DevOps.

Now this is definitely the most difficult

to break into,

and that's

because you need to have a strong

understanding of both development

and operations.

So building

automations, continuous

integration, continuous

deployment monitoring,

but also cloud services and security.

Now DevOps roles do typically require

some level of experience.

And that's

because you're working

in critical production grade environments.

And if you do make a mistake,

that's going to have a huge consequence

on the business

or the application, your support.

With that said, though,

there is typically much higher demand

for DevOps role than there is supply,

and that's

because less people go into this field

and it's much harder to master.

So if you are

someone who's willing to commit the time

and really understand

these DevOps principles,

you can definitely be out

competing a lot of people for jobs,

and you can find yourself in a position

where you really have the leverage

and people want to hire you

because they're just less

qualified people in that field.

That's what I found,

and that's what I've heard.

Talking to other DevOps engineers,

typically they can demand a higher salary,

but it is a harder

or higher barrier to entry

and does maybe require

that they first had a role

in some kind of back end

or front end job before.

So now let's dive into the pay.

Now truthfully,

the pay here is not a huge difference.

And I wouldn't pick

one of these roles simply

because you see a higher average salary.

Whatever you think you can get into

and master the quickest

or that's going to be of interest to

you is what I would

highly recommend going with.

Regardless, though, let me share with you

the figures

for the pay for frontend,

backend, and DevOps engineers.

So front end

engineers are typically paid

the least, and the average salary

in the United States.

For a frontend engineer,

this includes seniors, juniors,

just everything.

The complete average is $107,000.

Now for backend engineers,

this is $116,000,

and for DevOps

this is estimated at 138,000.

So you can see

the DevOps is significantly higher.

But again,

a lot of those roles are not junior

or entry level, meaning

you would need some experience

for you to at least need to learn a ton

to be able to land those positions.

Now, with all of that in mind,

as you climb

the experience ladder as a front end

backend or DevOps engineer,

you can get paid a ton of money.

If you're a really good frontend engineer,

you could easily be making

hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Same with backend, same with DevOps.

So don't pick one of these positions

simply because of the pay

you just saw there.

Remember that if you get really good

in one of these fields,

you're going to earn a lot

more than you would

if you were just a decent backend

developer or a decent developer

in another field

that didn't interest you as much.

Whatever you think you can get good at

what is really your interest

and what you're going to

like to learn a lot about

is where you're going

to make the most amount of money.

So keep those figures in mind,

but don't pick one purely

because of the salary.

They're all high salaries.

And the truth is, again,

if you master one of these fields,

you're going to get paid a lot.

So now what I'm going to do

is break down the responsibilities

in kind of tech

stack and languages that you need to know

for each of these roles,

so you can understand the full picture

of what you'll actually be doing.

And you have some better information

to make your decision.

So let's start with frontend.

As a frontend developer,

your responsibilities are the following.

Don't mind if I look at my screen,

I just have some of them written down

so I'm going to read them out.

We have developing user interfaces,

optimizing user experience,

working with designers,

and also sometimes backend engineers,

ensuring frontend performance

and testing and debugging.

Now this is probably

the simplest job description,

but generally speaking,

what you're doing is being responsible

for how the product looks and feels.

A lot of people

overlook this,

but a lot of what you're doing

is fine tuning user experience.

How does the website feel to use?

How does the app feel?

How does the game feel?

Everything that a user touches,

that's what you're responsible for.

And there's a lot more to that

than simply design.

Even simple things

like how far do I need to move

the mouse to get to a button?

Does the button have a hover effect?

Does it feel tactile?

These are things you're going to be

considering a lot

as a frontend engineer,

and you're also going to be dealing

with responsive design.

How do we make sure that this app works

on all different kinds of systems?

How do we make it accessible

so that people that have

maybe hearing issues

or visual issues

are able to utilize our application?

There's a lot of things

you need to do as a frontend developer,

but a lot of it is simply building

that user interface.

It's very visual,

and it's really easy

to see what you need to do

and when something looks good

or when it looks bad.

Regardless, some of the languages

and technologies

you'll need to know

as a frontend developer

include the following HTML, CSS,

JavaScript,

most likely TypeScript as well.

And then you're going to have to know

about different frameworks.

So depending on the company you work for,

maybe that's react, maybe that's Vue,

maybe that's angular.

There's a bunch of different

frontend frameworks

and these are constantly changing.

And as a frontend developer,

you need to keep up with

all of those trends,

even things like server side

rendering, bundling frontend code.

When you start to get to more mid

and senior level positions,

there's a lot more

that you need to think about.

But don't kind of stems and starts

from those languages that I just shared.

So now let's move on to the backend

developer.

Now as a backend developer, here

are some of your core responsibilities.

You're going to be doing

server side development,

building out APIs.

You're going to be working

with databases and database management.

You also need to do

application integration.

So how does the backend work

for various different types of frontend.

Then you'll be working with security,

you'll likely work with performance.

And then you're going to be

doing some testing of course,

and deployment and maintenance.

Now you'll notice here

that sometimes your DevOps and your back

end roles will share responsibilities.

And that's

because a lot of companies

don't have dedicated DevOps teams,

and they just bring a lot

of the DevOps responsibilities

to the backend team.

So even though you shouldn't

necessarily have to do all of this

as a backend developer,

sometimes you will be doing

a little bit of DevOps work.

And if you're a DevOps engineer,

sometimes you will be doing

a bit of backend work.

So keep that in mind.

Some of the responsibilities are blended

depending on the type of company,

how large it is,

and how many people

they have working in the different roles.

Now, in terms of frameworks

and technologies,

you'll likely need to know

you're going to have to know

some backend languages.

Now, this really varies

because there's

so many different languages in tech stacks

you could be using.

You could be using something like Python

and then you'd be expected

probably know about Django, flask,

maybe fast APIs,

some of those different frameworks

you might be working with rust, C

plus plus, PHP, Java Dot.

Net go.

There's so many different stacks

and that's actually what's

kind of nice about backend.

You can really optimize your profile

and your skill set for specific jobs.

And you could be, for example,

an expert dot.

Net developer or Java developer,

not just a general backend developer,

whereas typically with front end, most

your front end

engineers are going to know

a lot of these different frameworks

and they're going to have a similar

skill set.

Yes, obviously

you can specialize, but with backend

there's a lot more options

and there's a lot of different stacks

that you'll want to learn.

If you go look at job positions,

you'll see that people will specifically

look for backend

Python developers or backend

Ruby developers, or backend

PHP developers.

So you do need to kind of narrow it down

and pick a specific backend

language or backend tech stack.

Beyond that, you're going to need to know

about SQL and NoSQL databases.

How do they work?

How do you write SQL code?

What's the difference between them?

Some jobs want you to know

about specific databases

like MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.

other than that, things

like web server technologies.

So engine X, Apache, then API development,

developing Rest APIs, GraphQL

cloud services.

So things like AWS, Azure,

what are the other ones

we have here at Google Cloud?

Some companies want you to be familiar

with one of those different ecosystems.

And then finally

we might have containerization

and virtualization.

This is something that usually will happen

more on the DevOps side.

But as a backend developer,

you might need to know this as well.

Understanding Docker

Kubernetes deployments again,

sometimes those responsibilities

and roles kind of blend together.

So lastly, let's talk about DevOps.

Now as a DevOps engineer

you'll be responsible

for continuous integration

and continuous deployment.

So testing the code

making sure that it's working,

that it's functioning,

and then continually deploying

that to the users

or to the production environment.

Next infrastructure as code

monitoring and logging,

performance tuning,

doing security and compliance.

So if you work for a really,

really big company,

there's a lot of compliance

that you need to consider.

That's something to keep in mind.

Cloud server management.

So again working with these platforms like

AWS, Google Cloud, Azure whatever it is

that companies are using

and then disaster recovery and backup.

There's a lot of other things

that could come in here,

but those are the main topics

and things that you'll likely

be responsible

for now, in terms of technologies,

you will want to know

some basic programing.

You will want to be familiar

with development,

but you're also going to want to know

some of the following.

So maybe

Jenkins, GitLab,

Travis, CI, GitHub

actions, all these things

for doing continuous

integration and continuous deployment,

you're going to want to know

about Terraform, Kubernetes,

cloud formations, Docker.

You're also going to want to do

monitoring and logging.

So maybe you're familiar

with tools like Prometheus.

Then you're also going to have to know

about cloud service providers as well.

Again, Google Cloud, AWS, Azure, etc..

Scripting. This is a big one.

You're probably going to want to know

a bit of Python, a bit of bash,

maybe something like Ruby,

depending on the scripting language

that you'll need to use,

and then networking and security.

You probably want to have the fundamentals

of that and understand how that works.

And then lastly, of course

you want to know about database

as well, like SQL and NoSQL databases.

So now before we go any further,

let me quickly cover a question.

Many of you have probably had,

which is, Tim,

what about all the other

fields of development?

Well, yes,

you could go

specialize in game development.

You can get really good at robotics

or all

these other fields

that exist, like augmented

reality, virtual reality, etc.

but there is less positions

in those fields.

And truthfully,

if you can get good

in one of these different areas,

it's a lot easier

to transition into something else.

If your goal is to land

a job as a developer,

I do recommend

sticking to one of these three fields,

at least in your early career,

and then you can more easily transition

into all these other fields where you do

usually require a bit more experience.

If you're going to be a virtual reality

developer, for example,

typically you're going to need

development experience

in order to get that

development experience.

It's easier in one of these three fields.

Some of you may disagree with me on that,

but that's typically my advice.

And that's why

I'm just mentioning these three

now with that in mind,

we also have full stack development.

Well, before

you can become a good

full stack developer,

you need to either be a frontend developer

or a backend developer.

Sure, you can learn them at the same time,

but if you want to be really, really good,

you would first specialize in one

and then you would add

all of those additional skills.

At least that's

how I would recommend that you do it.

Anyways, with all that said, let's quickly

talk about how you actually pick

which one you want to specialize in.

The truth here

is that all that really matters

is what interests you the most.

Now, when I was talking about these,

one of these really resonated with you

and you feel pretty confident

that that's what you want to do,

then go for it.

Pick that as your specialization.

But if you're not sure

which one you want to get into

and this video gave you the information,

but you're still kind of

in between

which one you would like,

I'd recommend trying each of them.

I don't mean

spending three months on all of them.

I mean spending 2 or 3 days

and building out a front end project,

then building out a back end project,

then doing something with DevOps.

Watch a few tutorials, go online,

read more

about all of the different fields,

and really try to understand

which one is going to interest

you the most

and what you're going to be able

to commit to for the long run.

The biggest mistake

and what holds people back

is that they get good in one field,

and then they decide

that they really don't like it

because it was the wrong one

to start with.

And they go

and they relearn, for example,

back end or DevOps and start

all the way from the beginning.

That's really going to hinder your career

and keep making you take steps back.

So if you can make

the correct decision now,

you can go all the way up the ladder.

And rather than switching

between all these different fields,

you can really become

a master of your craft.

Now, last thing to note here

is that if you are interested

in any of these three fields,

I do have a software

development course

where you can actually pick

a specialization in front end,

back end, or DevOps.

After trying and working

with all of the different topics,

you can check that out

from the link in the description.

And he wasn't going to wrap it up

like the video.

Leave a comment

and I will see you in the next one.