How to succeed as a front end, back end, or full stack developer in startups

Photo credit: Danny Meneses

Front end, back end, full stack, data scientist, UI/UX designer. If you’ve just graduated from school and want to join a local tech startup, the first hurdle you might encounter is the many types of tech jobs you can apply for as a software developer.

I hope that, with this article, I can demystify the types of tech jobs which are normally found in Singapore startups and give you tips on each. (Note: I’ll only be covering web development).

Front end developer

Front end developers develop software for the face of a website—the color of the buttons, placement of tabs, loading screen, or just the flow of the website.

Start as a specialist for Javascript front end

As there are constantly new Javascript-based web technologies popping up daily, I would suggest that you start out as a front end developer and become a specialist.

You can start off with either React, Angular, or, the new kid on the block, Vue. This will grow your depth of knowledge with Javascript-related technologies as they relate to their own ecosystems.

Take for example the use of Typescript for Angular and ES6 in React. These technologies make your life developing in Javascript much easier, as they provide on-the-fly debugging of errors unlike executing traditional Javascript.

Develop mobile apps using Javascript

There is a rising demand for Javascript developers to build native apps using React, Angular, or Vue (and sometimes even maintain code for existing UI designs).

This makes it easier for startups to scale, so a developer with this skillset is highly sought after.

Prototype and design skills

As part of the nature of a startup, front end developers might be involved in creating and designing UI/UX prototypes in Sketch, Adobe Xd, or Figma (my personal favorite) before coding the actual front end of the web application.

It’s great to have a certain understanding of design systems, color schemes, and user personas for building UI/UX design prototypes.

Back end developer

Full stack developer

Conclusion