8 Must-Have Technical Skills For Every Developer in 2021
A hand-picked list of skills that’ll help you become a better all-around developer
Heavy loads, weigh upon the crown of the king developer.
As software continues to eat the world, the demand for skilled developers is deliberately increasing. But as the demand is increasing it’s very rare to find good programmers or developers!
Technology is vast and It doesn’t matter how much you’re an experienced or professional programmer, as a modern developer you should know how to integrate modern technologies and other technical stuff to be a master in your field.
If you’re looking to dust off your resume or update your current skill set, here is the list of the most desirable and trending skills which you should learn as a software developer in 2021 and beyond:
#1 Data Structures and Algorithms
This skill is the topmost priority in getting hired by most of the big tech companies. A good software developer should know how data is organized and how it can be used to solve real-world problems.
Data Structure and algorithms are the heart of programming, and you can not ignore them while programming. The most important thing you need to know what, when, and where to apply them.
There are several popular options for learning DSA:
- Stanford courses on Coursera
- MIT course on YouTube
- Algorithms (another book)
In software development, data structure and algorithms are used to solve a specific problem in less time and less space. You can learn and practice this skill from other websites like HackerEarth, GeeksforGeeks, Hackerrank, LeetCode, InterviewBit, etc.
#2 Programming Language
“The most disastrous thing that you can ever learn is your first programming language.”― Alan Kay
To become a good programmer, you must have command of at least one programming language in depth. When it comes to deciding which programming language you should choose, it depends on your area of interest and how you love to solve the problems you are comfortable with.
You can refer to the article Top 5 Most Demanding Programming Languages to decide which programming language you should choose.
You can watch these youtube channel to master your basic skills in a particular programming language:
Or you can take online courses from Udemy, Coursera, and other online platforms.
#3 Databases and SQL
The database is the heart of any program you write! Understanding the working of databases is an essential skill for the developer today.
A database is an efficient method to keep a software company’s data well-organized and secure, so it can be easily retrieved and prevent unauthorized access. Among developers, SQL is the most popular classic database.
SQL basically helps solve many problems, especially in organizations that deal with large amounts of data. It is also an intuitive query language, in high demand and with great profit. There are other databases like Redis, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Cassandra, etc. which you can work with.
#4 IDEs (Integrated Development Environment)
According to Wikipedia, “An IDE is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development.”
In simple words, IDE is one of the most basic tools that is required to write code effectively. IDEs also allow us to modify, compile, run and debug the code.
Every programmer or a developer must know how to use IDEs — to write, compile, run and debug their code. Using an IDE speed up their work and there are so many IDEs available for developers. For C, C++, and C# programmers most recommended choice is Visual Studio or Code::Blocks. For Python developers, it’s PyCharm or Jupyter notebook, and so on.
#5 Basics Of Networking
Understanding basic networking is important for developers in today's world. Especially when we’re living in a network-connected world, wherever we go we find Wi-Fi whether it’s our home, school, or office. We’re everywhere surrounded by interconnected networks.
The majority of developer work is based on the client-server model, where the request goes through the network to a server and the client can access it from any part of the world. Today client-server architecture is used in most applications like web-based, online games, or business automation, etc.
And you can’t deny the fact that for a developer, knowing the basics of networking is also an essential skill to understand, develop, and support your application.
#6 Source Control
According to Wikipedia, “In software engineering, source control (or version control) is a class of systems responsible for managing changes to computer programs, documents, large web sites, or other collections of information.”
In simple words, source control is a way to store a written code and it helps the developer to track and manage changes to code. And to become a good software developer you must know how to manage the versioning of the code written, how to perform branching of your code, margining different codes, and version control concepts and tools like Git (preferred by 70–80% of organization), Mercurial, SVN, etc.
#7 Scripting Languages
It’s not what you think it is. Not all scripting languages are considered programming languages or vice versa. In fact, there is a thin line between programming language and scripting language.
The primary difference between a scripting language and a programming language is that a scripting language does not require the compilation step and is rather interpreted. For example, normally, a C program needs to be compiled before running whereas normally, a scripting language like JavaScript or PHP need not be compiled. Some of the other scripting languages are Perl, Ruby, Python, etc.
But, why do we need to learn them?
Many scripting languages are used to design and develop front-end of the web applications. If you’re a C/C++ or Java then you can’t whip out something as quickly as a Python or Perl developer can do.
By using scripting language it is easy to create tools and scripts to solve common programming problems. If you’ve good command over a scripting language like Python, or JavaScript then you can automate boring stuff easily.
#8 Encryption and Cryptography
When it comes to making a software or web application, it is important for a developer to implement a secure and encrypted key to maintain user privacy and prevent all kinds of attacks.
Encryption is important because it allows developers to securely protect data that they don’t want anyone else to have access to. Once data is encrypted, only authorized parties who have a “key” can read it or use it.
According to The Software Alliance, cybercriminals stole 423 million identities in 2015 and the threats to data security continue to multiply as the year passed by. According to Stunning Data Growth Statistics, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced by humans every day and that amount will increase to 463 exabytes by 2025.
With that amount of data in play, encryption is an absolute necessity for communicating online with privacy and security.
Cryptography, on the other hand, is used to secure all transmitted information in our IoT-connected world, to authenticate people and devices, and devices to other devices using a set of rules that allows only those intended — and no one else — to receive the information to access and process it.
Becoming a good programmer is not a kid’s toy!
But who said it isn’t possible, it is indeed possible if you put all your hard work into learning and mastering essential aspects that are required, especially the ones mentioned in this post.