Full-stack developer, a position made famous by the Silicon Valley lore, is a professional who works across the entire product development, from backend to up to frontend UI experience, handling databases in between.
Even as the no-code tools are becoming popular, opportunities for Full Stack developers are aplenty and remain high in demand. This demand is driven by the need of companies to build their proprietary tools and products and startups trying to save cost by hiring these technological jacks-of-all-trades.If you are here, we assume you are trying to understand the job prospect of becoming a full-stack developer. Breaking into full-stack development is quite straightforward but not simple. We already have detailed guides on how frontend developers can build skills to turn into full-stack developers or how backend developers can take full-stack dev roles.
This article is about exploring the full-time and freelance opportunities available for full-stack developers.
Let’s focus on that.
Full time vs. Freelance Opportunities For Full Stack Developers
Full-stack developers are high in demand at product-based and service-based companies equally. Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and Google are some of the companies that always look for skilled full-stack developers.
There are many reasons to look for full-time full-stack development roles. Easily available jobs and higher pay are the two factors why developers want to embrace the full stack dev field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, job openings for full-stack developers will increase from 135,000 to over 853,000 by 2024. The average salary of full-stack developers is $106,000 a year on average.
How much you earn as a full stack developer in a full-time role depends on the company location, company size, and experience. There is a learning curve in this position, which is why there lies a major gap between how much you earn as a beginner compared to what you’d be earning at the top of your career.
Even before the pandemic made remote work the new normal, developers were working as freelancers. As a freelance full-stack developer, you can earn a lot more than full-time roles, but it comes with greater demands and expectations from clients.
On average, freelance full-stack developers with 1-3 years of experience make anywhere between $50 to $75 per hour. This is much higher than the industry standard as the demand for full-stack developers is high to handle projects individually. With a few years of experience under their belt, full-stack developers can earn as high as $300+ per hour. However, for such high rates, you will have to demonstrate your expertise.
Why become a freelance full-stack developer?
As remote work is becoming mainstream culture, developers are more actively looking for freelancing opportunities. While it is true that freelancing comes with its own set of challenges such as no security of monthly paychecks, unavailability of clients at times, and no fixed work routine, the benefits simply outweigh these cons.
Autonomy
Who doesn’t want to be their boss? Freelancers have full autonomy over decisions regarding projects, the work schedule, and rates. You work on projects you want and are in more control of what technologies to use.
Choose the tech
As a full-stack developer, you are expected to work on all levels of the technology behind any web application. However, in a full-time job, you will be limited to working on the tech stack that your company uses unless you are lucky enough to start a project from scratch on your own. As a freelancer, you have the liberty to use the programming language you want, frameworks you are comfortable with, and all tech you want to combine in your stack.
Flexibility
Needless to mention, as a freelancer, you will never have to work 9-5. You can live as a digital nomad if you want. That being said, this flexibility is in no way an excuse to miss deadlines. As a freelancer, a lot will depend on how timely you deliver projects.
Work-life balance
Full-stack development is a lot of work. As a freelancer, you can better manage work-life balance as you are free to work at hours you are most productive. This leaves more time to spend with family
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