All kinds of organizations rely on the services of web development, including hospitals, schools, nonprofits, and tech giants. You can become a high-level employee in any industry by having strong computer programming skills, which will serve as an asset to the organization.
Do you often wonder what you can achieve with your Python and C++ skills? You can transform your coding skill into a lasting career if you turn it into this list of job titles, potential paths, and progression opportunities.
Job Titles in Web Development
A wide array of specializations are available in the world of web development. Make sure you understand the differences when studying and searching for a job.
- There is no difference between a developer and a programmer. No matter which title you’ve assigned to your business card, you’re capable of writing in multiple languages.
- There is no true interchange between Web Developers and Software Engineers – these terms denote different roles that are sometimes conflated.
- The role of a web developer is to develop a website; they use code to make it functional and appealing. Most software engineers don’t work directly with customers, but instead work on programs, software, or applications. Engineers typically have more experience than developers and their positions are usually higher level.
- Front End Engineer – “Front end” refers to everything a customer will see, such as: text fields, images, buttons and banners. They design the interfaces that users interact with. Front end coding languages include HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
- Back End Engineer – A back end engineer develops the systems that allow a website to process data. In addition to communication with servers, they control how user data is collected, stored, and managed. Some of the more commonly used back end languages are Ruby, PHP, and Python.
- Full Stack Engineer – A full stack engineer knows multiple programming languages and has successfully built both the front-end and back-end of a site. The expert programmers have knowledge of how the user interacts with the application, as well as how the data is transmitted to servers.
Web Development Career Paths
Depending on work style and level of experience, there are two main career paths for web developers. If you are an independent contractor, you will have more flexibility and autonomy than if you are a salaried employee.
Working for an employer who offers a stable income and enjoys working as part of a team tends to make them happier. In addition to learning from other members of your team, you’ll collaborate with other programmers and designers. It’s highly likely that you can grow in a larger organization, especially if you prove your commitment and reliability to senior leadership. Developers earn high salaries, have a wide range of employee benefits and may be eligible for bonuses due to their programming skills.
It’s likely you’ll take the freelance route if you like the challenge of working with new clients and want to be able to pick your own projects. It’s your responsibility to generate your own income. The upside is that you will have high job satisfaction when you succeed, since you will be in charge and control the direction of each project without the red tape of a traditional corporation.
You will have the option of becoming a consultant once you have spent several years perfecting your craft. A web consulting company interviews potential clients to determine if they’re the right fit for the company, and then builds custom websites or apps to meet those needs. Many of these companies continue to manage and maintain their clients’ websites and thus generate ongoing, reliable income.
No matter what type of job draws you, you can have a long-term career in web development, whether freelance or in a traditional 9-5. Programmers are always in demand. Combine your coding skills with a solid work ethic, and you’ll quickly build a career that rewards you financially and personally.
Developer responsibilities
In general, web developers are responsible for more than just writing scripts. In addition to the actual programming part of your role, you could also be responsible for any of the following.
- Meeting with customers: If you work for a small business or as a freelancer, you may be required to do some face-to-face meetings with customers in order to understand what they need.
- Customer research: If your company has already conducted extensive customer research and surveys, it’s likely you’ll have to review this data to gain a deeper understanding before you begin developing the project.
- Partner with other teams: The team that makes up your organization probably includes UX designers, data analysts, project managers, and product designers. All of these teams will likely need your help at one point or another in order to create a site that is appealing in design and collects the correct data.
- Testing is a crucial step in the development process. It’s your responsibility to troubleshoot your own work, identify any bugs, and test the site or app on multiple browsers and devices before launch.
One person web contractor or 30 people in an engineering department will have vastly different experiences of day-to-day life.
Consider the aspects of your work that will make you the most fulfilled before you sign a contract or accept an offer. There are many different paths that you can take in programming; find the one that suits you best.
Four skills of a successful developer
A strong portfolio and knowledge of HTML can help you land the job. However, there are other qualities you need to excel at your career that cannot be learned in an hour-long YouTube tutorial.
In order to excel in web development, you need to possess the following four skills. Maybe you’re naturally talented in these areas, but if you’re not, you can learn to be more adept at detail-oriented problem-solving, creative communication, and creative problem-solving with every site you build.
- Detail-oriented: Even the tiniest typo can result in a 404. Multiple re-readings of code are learned by programmers as they check for errors and optimize their code. The ability to look at your own work objectively requires patience and laser-focus.
- Thinking logically: Programming languages are based on rules and definitions. You’ll pick up these languages much more quickly if you’re naturally good at thinking logically through problems. When you see these in action, you’ll develop a knack for breaking down a statement into its components and predicting the logical outcome.
- Developing an elegant solution for the end-user is the responsibility of developers. You’ll find that complex projects rarely have a singular solution: you will often have many options at your disposal, and you’ll need a creative mind to imagine how each will work.
- You’ll need to communicate throughout your project, no matter if you’re part of an engineering department or working on your own as a contractor. Keeping an open mind to ideas from designers, clients, and your team members is key, as is speaking up when you anticipate roadblocks. Your development skills will improve as a result of fostering open lines of communication.
Growth Opportunities
Skilled developers could join a team, lead it, and become a technical director or even a chief technology officer. As you get your license you’ll have more chances to make money and take on new challenges, but you’ll also be responsible for less work and spend less time coding.
- Senior and lead developers still spend time coding, but they handle the most complex tasks and have a greater degree of autonomy. In addition to leading team meetings, they provide seasoned expertise and help new team members with questions.
- Make sure you’re prepared for a whole new sphere of responsibility if you make it to technical director. Director of technology makes tough decisions about staffing, tools, and budgets for the whole department. You’ve already demonstrated your programming skills if you’ve made it to this point. With your leadership, delegation, and project management skills now required, you have to step up to the plate.
- You could become Chief Technology Officer if you have programming experience and pursue a leadership role. You will not be involved in programming as CTO. It will be your responsibility to develop policies, procedures, and measurable goals for the development teams. The company’s major investments and new products will be decided by you.
Web developers’ job outlook
Programmers are in high demand, and job growth is outpacing job growth in the web development sector by 13% by 2028.
Online tools that are user-friendly and effective are in high demand by small business and global companies alike. E-commerce is especially prevalent in the retail sector, where companies increasingly rely on it to increase sales: the click of a mouse is much cheaper than a fully-staffed store.
The web development industry is here to stay. Developers’ ability to solve problems and predict what will happen in the future cannot be replaced by machines. Their ability to predict, solve problems and come up with new ideas can never be automated. No matter how the job market changes, you’ll have the security of a career path that’s future-proof. Even more options will be available to you if you are proficient in multiple languages.
It is easy to learn, grow, and improve your skills as long as you keep learning. A code career can last a lifetime if you set your sights high.