Best resources to learn backend development and ace that job interview

Backend developer is one of the most demanded and high-paying careers in technology. But since the competition is much higher, certain skill sets set apart the best from the rest. To qualify as a backend developer, you need to acquire skills essential to get your dream job. 

There are many resources available to teach you how to become a great backend developer. Yet, it is hard to find all in one place. Most don’t exactly offer a practical experience, while others hold no credibility of their mentions. Perhaps, they are only useful for a short-lived time. 

To help you out, this article covers all good resources to provide you with a good amount of information about back-end development, from an introduction to the tools and practical examples of using those tools. 

Here’s what and where you can find them.

Blogs To Learn Backend Development

A great way to learn and prepare for a job interview is to read blogs, listen to podcasts, watch tutorial videos, and practice them yourself. The following blogs help learn different aspects of backend development. 

• Toptal Blog – Backend
  Toptal is a global freelance network with an extensive list of qualified and carefully vetted freelancers. Following this blog and subscribing to their weekly newsletter, you can gain insights and knowledge shared by the world’s top talents. They share backend development tutorials and technology announcements to help new developers brush up their skills and perform better in the long run. 

• Killer PHP
  Designed for people who want to learn how to code in PHP, Killer PHP is a blog by Stefan Mischook. Keeping the quality high, the author releases only one or two blogs per month. With the help of articles and videos, you will learn the basics of PHP in these blogs. The course covers everything from writing PHP scripts to developing loops and processing HTML forms.

• DoorDash Engineering
  The most recent backend development articles can be found here. It is composed and managed by a well-qualified and experienced doordash engineering team. You can follow this blog for expert insights, recent news, and opinions on Backend Development and other technology. 

• Oracle Blogs
  There is no other blog that provides insight and expertise in Back-end Engineering to compare with Oracle blogs. As Oracle maintains Java, this blog is among the most informative about Java, including accessibility, security, and user experience. You will find tutorials to learn Java, updates, and ways for integrating tools in Java directly from developers and maintainers. 

Online coursees to learn and Practice Coding

Taking online courses can be very beneficial for those who want to gain knowledge from experts in the field. Developed by experienced professionals, these courses meet industry standards.

• JavaScript, Bootstrap, & PHP – Certification for Beginners by Udemy
  Three of the most popular programming languages for both front-end and back-end development are introduced in great detail in this course. Where you will learn to create and master client-side and server-side interactivity using JavaScript, Bootstrap, & PHP, and to interact with a MySQL database using PHP.  

• Full Stack Web Development course on Coursera
  On Coursera, the Full Stack Web Development course covers the fundamentals of HTML, HTML5, styling with CSS3, and Twitter Bootstrap programming. Providing an in-depth understanding of the technologies employed in the creation and introduction of websites and applications

• Python and its execution on Coursera
  On Coursera, you can take a course called “Using Python to Interact with the Operating System” to learn how to manipulate files and processes on operating systems. Additionally, you will learn how to create programs that create summary files and process mistakes in the actual log files. Additionally, you will learn how to run Python locally.

• Fundamentals of Programming on Udemy
  Designed for those who are proficient in programming, web application development, cross-platform development, and system engineering. In this course, you will learn how to develop apps and software. Aside from C, Java, Go, Ruby, C++, JavaScript, and PHP, you will also learn C, Java, Go, Ruby, C++, and PHP. 

Books on Back End Development

As a beginner or entry-level developer, there are some books you need on your shelf for reference or to start your journey in programming.

• Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++ by Bjarne Stroustrup
  For anyone looking to develop their C++ foundation, it is a fantastic book. The book covers both generic and object-oriented programming. There are numerous exercises available to help clarify the topics.

• Learn Python The Hard Way: By Zed A. Shaw
  Go for this book if you’re serious about learning Python from scratch with practical experience. It begins with setting up the Python environment, covering key concepts including basic math, variables, programme design, data structures, strings, files, and loops. The author has included activities that require you to type your code before fixing any errors you see with basic debugging tips, completing these tasks can help you build better programmes.

• PHP & MySQL: The Missing Manual by Matthew MacDonald
  Popular to support programmers in database creation, content management, and user interaction, learning database management systems, and also help them comprehend how PHP and MySQL are related.

• The Joy of PHP Programming by Alan Forbes
  Every PHP developer should have a copy of this book on hand in their library. Starting from scratch, the book covers everything, including the fundamentals of HTML, PHP installation, PHP syntax, MySQL, and control structures. It walks you through setting up PHP and xAMPP for your home development environment from scratch, walks you through the fundamentals of PHP syntax, and then starts giving you little tasks to work on making these initially abstract examples more tangible and applicable. 

Podcasts For Learning Back End Development

It is beneficial to be conscious of big updates, technologies, frameworks and releases sooner than others. You can follow these popular podcasts to find everything about back end development, updates, and events related to it.

• The 6-Figure Developer
  This excellent podcast is focused on encouraging developers to be successful in their careers. With covering clean code, test-driven development, professionalism, and entrepreneurship. The hosts have a wealth of expertise in the development field. You can join hosts like John Callaway, Clayton Hunt, and Jon Ash is the show. 

• The Real Python Podcast
  Christopher Bailey is the host of this podcast, which features interviews, coding advice, and dialogue with guests from the Python community. This covers a wide range of subjects, such as the best ways to write in Python, advice for finding a job, and related issues in software development.

• Code Newbie
  CodeNewbie began as a weekly Twitter chat hosted by Saron to connect those learning to code. It has now developed into a welcoming, international community that assists people in learning to code for free. You can join the CodeNewbie Community Forum to follow a large community of programmers who talk about software development, database, and web3 development.

YouTube channels to watch for learning backend

YouTube channels provide an excellent visual experience. Here are a few worthy mentions.

• TheNewBoston
  TheNewBoston is the most popular programming language learning YouTube channel for web development. There are many amazing tutorials for computers, as well as some other fantastic videos. To offers in-depth learning for beginners and advanced users in both frontend and backend languages.
  Subscribers as of Nov 2022- 2.65M

• Anuj Bhaiya
  Anuj is an Ex Software Engineer at Amazon & Urban Company and a self-taught programmer. Started his own YouTube channel to teach to help you learn new programming languages, help you understand Data Structures and Algorithms, and develop your soft skills.
  Subscribers as of Nov 2022- 235k 
• Coding with Lewis
  Managed by Lewis Menelaws, the channel is popular among young developers looking to master popular programming languages and understand the new ones. He has a comprehensive 5 years of professional coding experience. With this channel, he shares his knowledge with an entry-level insight into the technologies for beginners.
  Subscribers as of Nov 2022- 375k 

Conclusion

You can learn about complicated backend development trends and ace that job interview with the help of the resources mentioned above. It’s important to understand that this is just one step in your journey, and it may take several years before you feel comfortable developing for yourself. 

The most important thing is to enjoy learning coding and continue doing so until you have mastered all accessible skills of backend development.

Wish you all the best. We’ll have more to share soon….