Full Stack Developer vs Software Engineer: What’s the Difference?

Full stack developers and software engineers are two pillars of the Software development industry. Full stack developers are the professionals who can develop a complete application. Software Engineers are the ones who apply their knowledge to design and develop computer software for different platforms. Both are really lucrative career options that offer insanely high salaries, global recognition, and immense job satisfaction. Now the question arises which one is better: Full-stack developers or Software Engineers? Maybe you are confused between the two.

But don’t worry we are here to rescue you to overcome this doubt. In this blog, we will discuss the difference between a Full-Stack Developer and a Software Engineer to help you choose the best. So let’s get started.

What is a Full Stack Developer?

Full stack developers are the professionals who can develop a complete application. They can work on both frontend and backend development of the website. Advantages of hiring full stack developers include their ability to streamline communication between frontend and backend teams, leading to more efficient development cycles and faster time-to-market for projects. They are in huge demand as they know a wide variety of skills and have extensive knowledge of web development. There is an average increase of around 30% in the jobs hiring full stack developers.

Skills of a Full Stack Developer

In this section, we will discuss the skills required to become a Full-Stack developer. To become a full-stack developer you need to be proficient in all three technology stacks: frontend, backend, and database. Let’s dig deeper into all these technologies.

1. Frontend: which refers to the part of the website with which the user interacts. The structure, design, content, and behavior which is seen when applications are opened are developed using a frontend stack. Skills required to develop the frontend of the application are
   • HTML
   • CSS
   • JavaScript
   • Front-end framework and libraries
2. Backend: refers to the server-side of the website that focuses on how the website works. It is built by using
   • Programming languages: Knowledge of programming languages like Java, C, C++, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, PHP, Go, and C#.
3. Database: It refers to an organized collection of data. Some of the popular databases are
   • Oracle
   • SQL
   • MongoDB

So till now, we have understood the skills required to become a full-stack developer. Now let’s move to the next section and read about why you need a Full-stack developer.

Why Do You Need a Full Stack Developer?

Some of the major reasons why we need Full-stack developers are:

• They provide a union of services: full-stack developers are highly skilled in a wide range of technologies. So they can work as DevOps developers, MERN developers, Web developers, and much more simultaneously.
• Enhances productivity: Hiring Full-stack developers enhances productivity as they can manage a lot of responsibilities. This leads to a smaller team that increases productivity.
• Provide more services on less budget: Hiring a full-stack developer provides you with a lot of services within the budget of one developer. So this minimizes the cost and maximizes productivity.
• Saves a lot of time: Full-stack developersmanage both frontend and backend simultaneously so this saves a lot of time.

Salary Insight

Full-stack development is a lucrative career that offers an average salary of $99,274 as per the latest report by glassdoor.

Who is a Software Engineer?

Software Engineers are professionals who apply their knowledge to design and develop computer software for different platforms like desktops, mobile applications, televisions, etc. They need to choose appropriate algorithms to enhance the operating system compatibility, memory space, and processing power.

Skills of a Software Engineer

Software Engineer is a broad term that requires different skills and the ability to solve different problems. Here are some of the skills required to become a Software Engineer.

So these are some of the basic skills required to become a software engineer. Apart from this, you need to have good communication skills, problem-solving, planning, and much more. Now let’s read the next section on why we need a software Engineer.

Why Do You Need a Software Engineer?

• Develop full-fledged applications: Software engineers are highly proficient in developing full-fledged applications using the latest technologies.
• Develop complete SDLC: Software Engineers are highly experts in designing a complete step-by-step software development cycle and work individually on each stage.
• Problem rectification during the development phase: They are highly proficient in problem rectification to solve all sorts of issues during the software development process.

Salary Insights

As per the latest reports by Glassdoor, the average salary for software engineers in the United States is around $116,967 per year.

Difference between Full Stack Developer vs Software Engineer [Infographic]

Before we move further to discuss which one to choose among Software engineers and Full-stack developers. Let’s understand the difference between Software engineers and Full-stack developers.

• Develop full-fledged applications: Software engineers are highly proficient in developing full-fledged applications using the latest technologies.
• Develop complete SDLC: Software Engineers are highly experts in designing a complete step-by-step software development cycle and work individually on each stage.
• Problem rectification during the development phase: They are highly proficient in problem rectification to solve all sorts of issues during the software development process.
• Knowledge of object-oriented design concepts
• Analyze problems and propose a solution

Similarities between Full Stack Developer vs Software Engineer

• They both work closely with different team members to design, develop, test, and deploy applications.
• Both need to have proficient knowledge of development methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, Agile, etc.
• Both roles require a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and information technology is a relevant field.

Full Stack Developer vs Software Engineer: Which One You Should Choose?

Choosing between Software Engineer and a Full-stack developer can be very tricky. There is a huge demand for both professions and both are very exciting career options. But we hope that the differences we have highlighted above will help you make a better choice among these options.

To choose one among Full Stack Developer vs Software Engineer ask yourself a few questions. What career option excites you more than building websites or applications? Do you like to build robust applications as a full-stack developer or write complex management as a software engineer? Then make a decision based on your passion.

• They both work closely with different team members to design, develop, test, and deploy applications.
• Both need to have proficient knowledge of development methodologies like Scrum, Kanban, Agile, etc.
• Both roles require a bachelor’s degree in computer science, and information technology is a relevant field.

Conclusion

So till now, you must have got a clear idea about the skills, requirements, benefits, and salary Insights of both Full Stack Developer and Software Engineer. Both are highly lucrative professions and have their own pros and cons. So consider the differences mentioned and make a decision based on your passion.