Full Stack Developer VS Mean Stack Developer

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Published: 25 Nov 2019

Software Development

MEAN stack developer

You’ve probably read somewhere on a company hiring a MEAN stack developer or a full stack developer, and you wondered what they were. What is the difference between a MEAN stack developer and a full stack developer? What does full-stack mean, and what does MEAN stack mean? Is there a difference in skills needed, and what are the salaries?

We’ll be answering all those questions today and hopefully clear any doubts you’ve had about them.

To understand what a full stack developer or MEAN stack developer differentiate, we have to know how the web is structured.

There are two major components of web development (read about web development trends in 2020).

The first is called the frontend. Frontend development is made from everything that the client (user) can see or click on. That means buttons, forms, text content, images, and other media. These things are usually controlled by HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, together with their libraries.

The second component is the backend. Backend development is made from everything that the server does. That means everything that the average user doesn’t see and doesn’t need to know how it’s done. Backend development includes all the logical processes and all the „behind the scenes“ functionalities of web applications. It stores and retrieves data and calculates results. In simple words, any development that doesn’t involve creating code that produces a user interface.

Because these two components are entirely different, they require various tools and techniques to work properly. For example, there are different programming languages for backend and different database systems to store data in. These tools and techniques are the difference between full-stack developers and mean developers. Let’s get into more details about each of them.

Mean Stack vs Full Stack Developer: Full-Stack Developer

What does full stack mean?

A full-stack developer is a web developer or engineer who works with both the front and back ends of a website or application—meaning they can tackle projects that involve databases, building user-facing websites, or even work with clients during the planning phase of projects.

                                              Skillcrush.com

You still maybe be wondering what is a full stack developer? Well here are some of the skills needed for someone to be considered a full stack developer:

  • One or more back end languages, HTML, CSS and JavaScript
  • Specialization in one particular back end programming language like Ruby, PHP, or Python.
  • (Optional) Project Management, Visual Design, Project Design, UI/UX

A lot of employers are looking for developers who know how to work the front end and the back end of a website or application. That means full-stack development. And that is because these people can be of use in different designations in the company. And most importantly, there are plenty of job offerings for the full stack developer as there are more and more companies coming into the market. We are going to take a closer look at the responsibilities, requirements, and salaries of a full stack developer.

Full Stack Developer Skills, Responsibilities, Requirements, and Salaries

Companies are looking for highly skilled computer programmers who are comfortable in both front end and back end programming. Full-stack developers are responsible for seeing out a project from its concept phase to the finished product. That means attention to detail, and to have excellent organizational skills is essential.

This is a real-life example of a job posting for a Full Stack Developer to give a better understand what a full stack developer means:

Full Stack Developer Responsibilities:

  • Developing front end website architecture.
  • Designing user interactions on web pages.
  • Developing back end website applications.
  • Creating servers and databases for functionality.
  • Ensuring cross-platform optimization for mobile phones.
  • Ensuring responsiveness of applications.
  • Working alongside graphic designers for web design features.
  • Seeing through a project from conception to finished product.
  • Designing and developing APIs.
  • Meeting both technical and consumer needs.
  • Staying abreast of developments in web applications and programming languages.

Full Stack Developer Requirements:

  • Degree in Computer Science.
  • Strong organizational and project management skills.
  • Proficiency with fundamental front end languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Familiarity with JavaScript frameworks such as Angular JS, React, and Amber.
  • Proficiency with server-side languages such as Python, Ruby, Java, PHP, and .Net.
  • Familiarity with database technology such as MySQL, Oracle, and MongoDB.
  • Excellent verbal communication skills. Good problem-solving skills. Attention to detail.

 

The average full stack developer salary in the USA is $82,600. The Entry-level salary is $58,000, while the Middle is $95,000, and the Senior is $116,000.

MEAN Stack Developer

 What is mean stack?

A MEAN stack developer is someone who has knowledge in some particular areas alone. MEAN stack development refers to the development process that falls within these particular set of technologies MongoDB, Expressjs, AngularJs, NodeJS. In simple words, MEAN stack developers are like JS-based application developers

                                                          Quora.com

MEAN Stack is a set of technologies that you can use to make a full-stack application.

  • M stands for MongoDB (No SQL database)
  • E stands for Express (a framework on top of Node)
  • A stands for Angular, a front end framework
  • N stands for Node, a backend framework

Two main advantages of MEAN stack are its scalability and the fact that it uses JavaScript only. Since they are all JavaScript, a good MEANstack developer is required to have extensive JS knowledge.

The primary functions of the MEAN stack technologies are:

  • Angular JS: Accept requests and display results to end-user
  • NodeJS: Handle Client and Server Requests
  • Express JS: Make requests to Database and return a response
  • MongoDB: Store and retrieve data.

As you can see, the correct name for this stack of technologies should be ANEM because it captures its stack order, but MEAN is more memorable.

To make it completely clear, a MEAN Stack Developer is a developer who only uses a certain stack of technologies to create a Full Stack Application.

More and more companies chose MEAN Stack Developers as their preferred choice of employees because they can make a full-stack application, and often their average salary is lower than that of a full stack developer. Let’s talk about the responsibilities, requirements, and salaries of a mean stack developer.

MEAN Stack Developer Responsibilities, Requirements and Salaries

A MEAN stack developer job posting will look more or less the same as a Full Stack Developer one. You will be required to build frontend and backend systems, develop new modules and features, perform unit testing, coordinate with the web app team on API integrations, and follow a particular methodology like Agile.

Here are real-life MEAN Stack Developer examples in the form of job postings:

Job Description:

  • Hands-on Experience and manage Node js, Mongo DB, Angular js and Express js
  • Architect, Develop, test and deploy robust products that are fast, scalable and highly responsive
  • Design and maintain large and complex databases, both relational and non-relational databases
  • Establish, refine and integrate development environment tools and software as needed
  • Identify production and non-production application issues as a part of the deployment
  • Deploy applications on AWS cloud with the ability to quickly debug hosting related issues

Required skills:

  • Ability to contribute individually
  • Expertise in Complete Mean, Node js, Mongo DB, Angular js and Express js
  • Expertise in PHP, jQuery, MySQL, Symfony, OOPS
  • Experience in server management and AWS knowledge is mandatory
  • Ability to manage and lead a team of developers
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
  • Immediate joiners are appreciated
  • Best in industry salary

Qualifications B-Tech, M-Tech, MCA from reputed Colleges

Additional Information Other Skills: Committed, Good in Research.

The average MEAN stack developer salary in the USA is $71,628. The Entry-level salary is $50,000, while the Middle is $70,000, and the Senior is $100,000.

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