How to Become a Technical Developer

Becoming a technical developer is not a simple undertaking. However, the development industry is a good choice for people looking to establish a stable career with plenty of growth opportunities. 

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in computer science and IT are expected to increase by 667,600 between 2020 and 2030. Technical developers are a significant part of this industry segment, promising growth opportunities for those who pursue a career in development. 

This article will define what technical developers do and the required skills and career paths for those who choose technical development as a desired role.  

What is a Technical Developer? 

A technical developer offers development services in various spaces, including software, web development, and even app development. 

While the potential responsibilities for tech developers are vast, those with development roles typically take on a specialization. 

For example, a technical developer at one company may focus primarily on optimizing a CRM system such as Salesforce or HubSpot. Another technical developer may concentrate solely on programming an internal tool or tech product. 

The applications of tech development vary enormously. Although, technical developers across roles and companies will find that they require similar backgrounds and skillsets to function effectively in any technical development position.

Invest in a strong foundation of development and software skills to open yourself up to various technical developer specializations.

What Does a Technical Developer Do?

Technical developers may be responsible for a plethora of different processes and technologies. Here are just a few of the most common and popular types of developers in the industry currently:

• Frontend developer
• Backend developer
• Full-stack developer
• Web developer
• Data scientist 
• DevOps developer 

Each of these positions requires a varying skill set. However, most rely on programming skills and aptitudes across industry-standard technologies. 

In your day-to-day as a developer, you may obtain experience working with databases, programming languages, graphics, or even QA activities. There are plenty of options and specializations to choose from when defining your career path. 

What Skills Do I Need To Become a Technical Developer?

While you will maintain and refine your specialization over time as a technical developer, there are some fundamental skills that all developers must cultivate at some point in their careers. 

Developers will be expected to foster a set of both hard and soft skills. In terms of soft skills, an employer may require a technical developer to communicate about technical situations in layman’s terms. There may also be communication skills necessary for technical developers that will also be involved in client-side discussion or project management. 

Additionally, technical developers should be familiar with working in a team environment and using agile methodologies. This has become a common industry practice, so the more you’re able to speak to these skills in an interview setting, the more you’ll stand out from candidates who choose to focus primarily on hard skills. 

Hard, technical skills are of the utmost importance in a technical developer role. Some of the most important technical skills involve comfortability in examining and utilizing programming languages. 

Source: Geeks For Geeks

Industry experts say the most in-demand and regularly-used programming languages are JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, and Python. Depending on what type of development work you’re doing, technical skills in C#, PHP, and Bash may also prove helpful. 

In addition to coding languages alone, technical developers should feel comfortable with basic data structures and algorithms, IDEs, operating systems, and networking skills. Many development jobs hinge on your confidence in at least one of these areas. 

If you’re planning to deepen your specialization in a specific area as a technical developer, keep in mind that your skillset should follow your intended career path. You may wish to highlight more niche technical skills that better align with the exact type of job you’re aiming to land. 

How Much Does a Technical Developer Make?

Just as the technical development industry is set to boom in the next decade, technical developer salaries match the demand for tech skills in the job market. 

Careers in computer science, big data, and technical development have long been among the best-paying jobs out there. Those who wish to invest in learning hard, technical skills will find that they’re highly desired in the job market by a variety of types of companies. 

The exact salary of a technical developer varies based on skillset, intended career path, and level of education completed.   

Source: US Department of Labor Statistics 

For instance, those focusing on databases may opt for a database architect role, which offers a median salary of just over $98,000. Others may wish to focus strictly on software development and QA, which provides employees with a median salary of about $86,000 to $110,000, according to Adzuna.

Regardless of a technical developer’s specialization, those who choose this career path will likely make a pretty comfortable salary.

Understand the Career Path of a Technical Developer Before Committing

Before committing to a career as a technical developer for the in-demand status or high salaries, make sure you truly understand and are excited about what you’re signing up for. 

The road to becoming a technical developer isn’t easy — there are tons of hard skills and technical capabilities expected of those in this field. However, suppose you find that the environment is suitable for you.

In that case, there are most certainly benefits to investing your time into getting several tools and technologies under your belt.