What skills should I learn to become a backend developer?

I would like to switch from front-end to back-end development. I have been working on NodeJS projects and know a little Python.

What skills should I learn? AWS, Kafka, or microservices. When I look at the job description, I become a little puzzled. Any advice would be appreciated.

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To switch to backend development, focus on learning server-side languages like Python or NodeJS, get comfortable with databases (both SQL and NoSQL), and understand API design. Familiarize yourself with cloud services like AWS and tools for containerization like Docker. Knowing a bit about message brokers and security can also be handy.

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Here are some key skills and technologies you might consider focusing on:

  • Microservices architecture: Microservices are a popular architectural style for building scalable and maintainable applications. Learning how to design and implement microservices can be very beneficial. This involves understanding how to break down a monolithic application into smaller, independent services that communicate with each other.
  • Apache Kafka: Kafka is a distributed event streaming platform capable of handling trillions of events a day. It is widely used for building real-time data pipelines and streaming applications. Learning Kafka can help you manage data streams between microservices effectively.
  • Databases: Understanding both SQL and NoSQL databases is important for back-end development. You might want to explore databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, MongoDB, and Redis. Knowing how to design and optimize database schemas, write efficient queries, and manage transactions will be very useful.
  • Security: Security is a critical aspect of back-end development. Learning about authentication, authorization, encryption, and secure coding practices will help you build robust and secure applications.