Today’s Internet users want more and better apps, websites, and programs. In response to this escalating demand, many businesses are looking for good developers, especially those that can handle design tasks on both the front and back ends. Consequently, the compensation packages are tempting, but the question remains, what constitutes an excellent full stack developer salary? Furthermore, where are they?
This article tackles all the relevant full stack web developer salary questions, including what a full stack developer is, what skills they need, what they do, and where to find the best full stack development salaries based on experience, location, companies, and more. We’ll also share a full stack developer bootcamp you can take to help you earn a great salary.
Let’s begin our journey with a definition of full stack development, then proceed from there.
What is Full Stack Development?
Full stack development is the process of developing an application from end to end, encompassing both the application’s front and back end. The user typically accesses the front end, while the back end covers the application’s core, where all the business logic resides. The process is the same for applications and web pages alike.
So, What’s a Full Stack Developer?
Based on our definition of full stack development, a full stack developer is an IT professional who is an engineer or developer with the skills to build an application or website’s front and back end, hence the clever term “full stack.” As a result, full stack developers need skills in every stage of website and application development.
What kind of skills, you ask? Good question! Let’s see.
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Skills Required for Full Stack Developers
Since the main focus of this article is on the salary picture, we’ll keep the skills to a concise list.
- HTML and CSS
- Git and GitHub
- Back-end development languages (e.g., Java, PHP, Python, Ruby)
- JavaScript
- Basic knowledge of web architecture
- The fundamentals of front-end design
- Database management systems (e.g., MySQL, Microsoft Access, Oracle, SQLite)
- REST and SOAP (Representational State Transfer and Simple Object Access Protocol)
- Technology stacks (e.g., Django, LAMP)
- Soft skills
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Time management
- Leadership
- Accountability
That’s a formidable list of skills, but they’re needed, considering the roles and responsibilities of the full stack developer. And speaking of those roles, here they are.
The Roles and Responsibilities of the Full Stack Developer
The typical full stack developer job involves:
- Developing and maintaining web services and interfaces
- Managing the total software development process from start to finish
- Contributing to both the front-end and back-end development processes
- Building new product features and application programming interfaces (APIs)
- Performing tests, troubleshooting software, and fixing bugs
- Collaborating with other departments
- Maintaining and upgrading applications after deployment
Full Stack Developer Salary by Nation
Here’s a breakdown of average annual full stack developer salaries across various nations, as Glassdoor reported.
- Australia: AUD 104,500
- Canada: CAD 81,076
- Germany: €60,287
- India: INR ₹676,000
- Japan: ¥6,000,000
- United Kingdom: £51,831
- United States: USD 97,155
- United Arab Emirates: AED 342,000
These average figures vary due to location, economic conditions, job demands, etc.
Full Stack Web Developer Salary Based on Employer
If you would instead look for an excellent full stack web developer salary based on what companies are offering rather than a national average, here are the current top eight high-paying companies looking for full stack developers, as reported by the job site Indeed.
- Fidelity TalentSource: $271,945 per year
- Selby Jennings: $221,885 per year
- Emergent Software: $219,085 per year
- Logic20/20: $174,085 per year
- DISYS: $156,867 per year
- eBay: $156,552 per year
- New Relic: $148,990 per year
- Fannie Mae: $145,144 per year
Full Stack Developer Salary Based on U.S. Cities
When we focus our salary research on the United States, we notice that there can be a significant variation based on geography. So, a full stack software engineer salary in New York will vary from a full stack software engineer salary in Seattle. Here’s a current salary breakdown of the top-paying U.S. cities, as cited by Indeed.
- San Francisco, CA: $150,589 per year
- Los Angeles, CA: $145,231 per year
- McLean, VA: $139,892 per year
- Chicago, IL: $131,297 per year
- Austin, TX: $129,343 per year
- Denver, CO: $126,155 per year
- Atlanta, GA: $113,766 per year
- Irving, TX: $112,429 per year
- Tampa, FL: $110,699 per year
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Full Stack Developer Salary According to Industry
Industry-based full stack web developer salaries vary as nations, cities, and companies do. Some industries need full stack developers more than others, so demand and importance factor in. Here are the top five best-paying industries, as reported by Glassdoor. These figures are average salaries, subject to the same previously mentioned variables.
- Insurance: $150,811 per year, 14% higher than other industries
- Retail & Wholesale: $148,003 per year, 12% higher than other industries
- Human Resources & Staffing: $145,889 per year, 11% higher than other industries
- Healthcare: $138,152 per year, 6% higher than other industries
- Telecommunications: $132,329 per year, 2% higher than other industries
Full Stack Developer Salaries Based on Experience
Not every fully stack developer gets paid the same. Experience is a major deciding factor in compensation matters. After all, a fresh-faced neophyte doesn’t have the years of experience and skill-building that a senior full stack developer has. Here’s a breakdown of average full stack developer salaries in the United States, based on years of work experience, as compiled by Glassdoor.
- Up to 1 Year: $83,604 per year
- 1-3 Years: $92,471 per year
- 4-6 Years: $96,788 per year
- 7-9 Years: $101,862 per year
- 10-14 Years: $108,309 per year
- 15+ Years: $119,792 per year
Salaries in Occupations Related to Full Stack Developers
Full stack development is just one of many development, engineering, and programming-related careers. There is often a crossover between various positions, so if you wish to parlay your full stack development skills into a related field, here’s a sample of related professions and what salaries they currently command, according to Indeed.
- Software Engineer: Average $114,808 per year
- Developer: Average $96,086 per year
- Back-end Developer: Average $159,416 per year
- Front-end Developer: Average $112,337 per year
- Application Developer: Average $85,888 per year
- .NET Developer: Average $120,022 per year
A Word About the Differences Between Full Stack Developers and Software Engineers
We’ve mentioned that many developer-related fields sometimes blend into each other. It doesn’t help that many jobs have multiple alternate names. This situation inevitably leads to confusion and even unfulfilled expectations.
People often confuse full stack developers with software engineers, so let’s take a moment and show the differences (and similarities!) between both titles.
Full Stack Developer
These developers build an application or website’s front and back ends, often assisting with the different stages of development and helping all levels of the app development team. These developers are jacks of all trades, easily switching between the front and the back ends. These developers:
- Design or code websites
- Test or troubleshoot websites
- Write documentation for maintaining the website
- Set up website servers and connect them to the client-side application
Full-stack developers typically need a mix of work experience and educational experience gained via a computer science degree, completing an online development course or bootcamp, or teaching themselves.
Software Engineer
Alternately called software developers or programming architects, software engineers design and develop applications and computer systems, using their extensive knowledge of computer operating systems, software development, and programming languages to solve real-world problems.
Software engineers typically write code, collaborate with team members, and attend meetings. Many of them work on several projects simultaneously. Other responsibilities may include:
- Testing and debugging software
- Analyzing project requirements
- Choosing the appropriate programming languages for a project
- Coding software in phases
Full stack web development is just a subset of software engineering. Both fields require a deep technical foundation, including programming, databases, and system relationships, and both occupations often require coding and testing. However, that’s where the similarities end. Notable differences include:
- Full stack developers work on all aspects of an application, while engineers work on only one.
- Full stack developers typically know multiple programming languages, while engineers usually only know one or two.
- Full stack developers often perform design and implementation tasks, while software engineers usually do one or the other, not both.
- Full-stack developers accomplish a little of everything, whereas software engineers narrow their focus to things like back end architecture or testing.
How to Increase Your Full Stack Developer Salary
So now we see that full stack web developers are well-trained, knowledgeable professionals who can tackle any aspect of app development. We’ve also seen how full stack developers with more experience and skills typically earn better salaries.
Whether you’re interested in beginning a career in full stack development or currently in the field but want to amplify your skill set, consider this highly effective online full stack development course. This intense nine-month course teaches advanced coding techniques and the entire stack, both front and back-end software development. You will hone your newly acquired skills with hands-on projects while building your own Git Portfolio from the ground up.
If you’re ready to step up and turbocharge your development skill set, sign up for this online course and get ready to meet the app design challenges of today’s fast-growing digital world.
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