Back-end Developer

Oh My Job is a webseries dedicated to discovering jobs as explained by in-the-field professionals. In this episode, Damien, a back-end developer, tells us about his job and day-to-day tasks at MWM.

Back-end developers are in charge of the entire technical side of a product—everything that users do not see when they are on an app or the internet.

Responsibilities:

• A first phase is design, with the definition and scheduling of the functions to develop.
• The second phase is coding and pushing to production.

One important tool a back-end developer uses is a text editor to write codes, test them, and then push them live. Popular editors are Sublime Text, Atom, and Visual Studio Code.

As languages, back-end developers have a choice between PHP, Python, Go, Java, and even Ruby for certain jobs.

“Concretely, creating a function begins with creating a first version that we will iterate with the product team. Meaning, we’ll go back and forth with them to come up with a final, functional version.”

Career path:

Just like other developer positions (full-stack, front-end, and the like), there is no true career path. Back-end developers can come from a background in engineering or sales or are even self-taught—the possibilities are manifold.

“You just need to love your job and the projects you work on every day.”

“You can train simply on the internet. That’s where we find the most high-quality resources. Don’t hesitate to take advantage of them to learn, train, and create your first projects.”

Skills:

Essential skills for this job are the ability to listen, knowing how to self-reflect, and curiosity.

“…we’re in a sector that is changing all the time. Every three to six months, a new language, or updates to our tools appear.”

Collaborations:

Back-end developers work mostly with the product team, who define and schedule the functions and who also act as a liaison for customer feedback so that the product can improve steadily.

“[You must be] in tune with the product team, because they are in contact with the clients and fully understand their needs.”

Salary range:

A junior back-end developer can earn about €35,000 per month.
A senior can earn between €45,000 and €70,000 before taxes per month.

Career growth:

Back-end developers can move into positions such as architecture or designing new functions, but they can also become technical leads or CTOs.

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