Employers

Back-end developers work for corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and other organizations that need IT services. Some are employed by software developers and other consulting firms that provide services to these companies and organizations. Back-end developers who have an entrepreneurial mindset can launch their own consulting firms. There are also opportunities in higher education, the military, and in corporate technology training.

Starting Out

Most back-end developers enter the field after obtaining at least one year of experience in lower-level IT positions in programming, web development, or database management. Some developers obtain this experience by working on a development team at a start-up company.

Many back-end developers learn about job openings via contacts made through internships or lower-level jobs, career fairs, job opportunities provided by their professors or their college’s career services office, online and in-person networking events, and the Web sites of companies and other organizations that employ developers.

A highly-skilled and experienced back-end developer can obtain additional experience and training to become a software engineer. Back-end developers also can be promoted to the positions of department manager, director of product development, or even chief technology officer.

A growing number of employers are seeking software developers who are responsible for both the front-end and back-end aspects of the development process. They are known as full stack developers. The IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology recently included full stack developers on its list of technology careers that are in strong demand.

Read ACM Career News (https://www.acm.org/articles/careernews) to learn about industry trends and career development topics.

Learn several coding languages to develop your versatility and improve your attractiveness to potential employers.

Visit the following Web sites for job listings:

• https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/backend-developer-jobs
• https://www.glassdoor.com/Job/backend-developer-jobs-SRCH_KO0,17.htm
• https://jobs.computer.org
• http://jobs.acm.org
• https://www.cybercareers.gov/job-seeker
• https://www.dice.com