Frontend vs. Backend Technologies, Understanding From The Career Perspective

Frontend vs. Backend Technologies, Understanding From The Career Perspective

September 26, 2022

5 minutes read

If you’re interested in a career in web development, it’s essential to understand the difference between frontend and backend development. The more you know and understand these technologies and the main differences between them, the better you will be able to determine which career path is right for you.

In this article, we will discuss both frontend and backend technologies with differences between the two, and the career options for both.

The Difference Between FrontEnd and BackEnd Technologies

What’s being built in software development is divided into two categories:

  • What is visible to the user?
  • What is going on in the background?

Frontend technology refers to what we see and do when using a site or app as site visitors or app users. In contrast, backend technology includes all the activities that take place behind the scenes and the speed with which that information is provided.

Frontend and backend development differ in several key areas. These include:

Architecture:

The architectural dissimilarity is the primary point of difference between both. The frontend architecture creates a graphical user interface, allowing users to interact with the system. On the other hand, the backend code runs on the server, acquiring requests from the client.

Furthermore, frontend developers are responsible for implementing visual components on a website, while the backend developers work on server-side development. They focus on databases, scripting, and website architecture.

Programming languages:

The programming language is also the main difference between front-end and back-end engineers. Regarding developing and creating the front end of your website or software, here are some recommended best frontend development languages for you to choose from.

Common Front-end languages:

Backend developers need to be proficient in programming languages that render on the server side of a website or application. The most popular backend programming languages are:

Common Back-end languages:

Framework:

The frontend framework is used to build the website’s visual content. For instance, management of AJAX requests, styling components of the website, associating the data with DOM (Document Object Model), and defining the file structure.

Backend frameworks, on the contrary, are libraries of the server side of the programming languages. They help in building the backend structure of the site. By using backend frameworks, the developers don’t have to build and configure everything from scratch.

Frontend vs. Backend Technologies comprises different frameworks.

Some common frontend frameworks include:

Whereas some common backend frameworks include:

Career Prospects in FrontEnd and BackEnd Technologies

Frontend and backend developers’ demand:

According to a survey by HackerEarth, the backend language topped the market’s list of in-demand tech skills when compared to the front-end language. The data was accumulated from 79 countries in 2022, and the final results were interesting. 18% of the hiring professionals are looking for backend developers, while 15% of the recruiters are after frontend developers.

Frontend and backend developer salary:

Many people look for the average salary slab before learning a new language. It’s more like a return on investment, time, and effort. Therefore they want to know the estimation of money they can make through it.

Let us scrutinize frontend vs. backend developer salaries to provide a better visual.

According to Glassdoor, $95,694 is the yearly pay for a backend developer and $82,677 yearly for a frontend developer. They extracted average wages from hundreds of salaries submitted on the platform.

Furthermore, Glassdoor estimates that the starting salary of a remote backend developer is $79,000 annually. In contrast, the starting pay for a remote frontend developer is $67,000 per year.

Skills required to get a job as a developer?

To secure a job as a developer, full-time or freelancing, you must acquire some core and technical skills.

For Frontend developers:

  • Knowledge of frontend developer languages, frameworks, and architectural designs
  • Problem-solving and communication skills
  • Understanding of web browsers and proficiency in designing user interfaces

For Backend developers:

  • Familiarity with the backend servers and knowledge of APIs
  • Knowledge of database technology, backend frameworks, and programming languages
  • Knowledge of security compliance and mobile web development

So, what is Full-Stack, then?

Web developers who work on both the back and front end of a website or application are called “Full-Stack” developers. As a result, they are involved in the website’s design and the server-side features of data flow and storage. The full-stack developers are proficient in all layers of the stacks.

The popularity of Angular vs. React drives the concept of MEAN (MongoDB, Express.js, Angular, and Node.js) and MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js). Both are considered the leading full-stack technologies. The level of productivity with MEAN and MERN stacks is nearly the same; therefore, full-stack developers prefer both.

According to Glassdoor, an average salary of a MEAN stack developer is $99,040 annually, whereas the MERN stack developer earns up to $101,335 per year. (U.S)

Full-stack developers can be a cost-effective solution for companies searching for remote or onsite developers. Explore more about tech stacks here and decide what option best suits you.

What should you learn?

The difference between frontend and backend developers must be evident by now. The frontend is for you if you are more into sound design, visuals, user interfaces, and experiences. But if you are inclined towards spending time creating APIs and writing algorithms, backend development is the way to go.

Whether you desire to be a frontend developer or a backend developer, both make higher salaries than other professions. However, they must remain up-to-date with new tools and technologies to continue their growth.

You can pick either as per your interest but can also think about learning both and becoming a full stack developer. As the demand for skilled full-stack developers is at an all-time high and shows no sign of slowing down.

To Sum It Up

Whether you’re looking to break into a career in technology or an experienced developer looking to fast-track your career to the next level, gaining frontend or backend developer skills could help you reach your goal. Enrolling yourself in courses where you can learn these languages is a great way to make your career future-ready.

ConsulNet offers a wide range of courses that enable you to learn various frontend and backend programming languages. If you are ready to step into the tech world, reach out to us, and we will help you choose the best.

Remember: Every day is a new chance—all the best for your future endeavors.