If you are thinking about how great and how much work Javascript developers are able to find right now or if you’ve been one for a while now, there are some important things that you need to know. There are some really important skills that every single developer in the world should have in order to be successful. Now, these skills don’t just stop with Javascript – they extend to any kind of developer who is writing code.
Everything from knowing how to communicate properly to keep up with the industry is incredibly important for developers. Continue reading to learn more about the top five essential skills every single JavaScript developer should have in their arsenal.
9 Skills Developers who work with Javascript need
1. The ability to keep up with what’s happening in the industry
This is a skill that’s not only important for JavaScript developers but every single person in the world who has a job. The world is changing at an incredible pace, which means that industry trends are coming and going faster than ever. This is especially true when it comes to the world of development. There are new programs, new coding languages, new applications, and new devices that you’ve got to know about if you want to be a successful developer.
It’s important for you to know how and where to get the latest information about JavaScript development in order to stay up to date.
You can set alerts onto your phone and get emails from the top development communities to stay aware of what’s going on in the world of coding. When you know the latest trends, then you are going to be more ready and prepared to stay ahead of the competition and keep your clients happy.
2. A good knowledge of different platforms/browsers and how each work
When new technologies come to the forefront of the digital world, then this raises a big question.
How are these technologies going to work across various platforms and browsers? Do things need to be tweaked a little bit to ensure everything works across browsers, platforms, and devices?
This is a big reason why every single developer needs to know a lot about various platforms and browsers. That way, whenever a new technology arises, then you are going to be ready and able to replicate your work across browsers. This skill gets more and more important to have as technology intensifies and diversifies in the future.
3. React & Redux
Next up on the list is a skill that every single JavaScript developer should be learning about in 2020.
React (a Javascript framework / library open-sourced by Facebook) has been growing in popularity and in demand since 2015 when the AngularJS framework started having some issues, which was super popular at the time. This helped React start to gain traction among the JavaScript development community, which is why you should definitely be spending some time learning about it.
However, in addition to React, Redux was announced in 2015 by Dan Abramov. Because of the easy flux implementation, so many developers decided it was time to make the switch to React. Redux made the testing of your applications so much easier than before and helped with getting rid of bugs in applications. That’s why these tools are the ones you’ve got to get into your toolbox to be a successful JavaScript developer.
4. Make sure that you know about Meteor if you’re just starting out
Over the past few years, Meteor has been slowly, but steadily growing in traction and popularity among the JavaScript developers of the world.
Meteor works perfectly well with Angular and React, which means that you’re not going to have any issues. It’s a pretty lightweight and easy-to-use framework. That means if you’re just starting out with JavaScript development or you want to prototype something easily, then this is the framework you need to know how to use.
5. Excellent communication skills when speaking with clients or customers
One of the most crucial skills that every single developer has got to have is one that you might not think about at first. You might think that developers are just going to be sitting behind their computer all day and barely speaking to any human beings. However, developers are going to have to know how to properly communicate with everyone from their own clients to their boss. In addition, if you are going to be working on a team of developers, team communication and collaboration is crucial for success.
6. HTML / CSS Frameworks
It is a given that as a front-end developer you'll have to have expert knowledge of HTML and CSS. We're not just talking about the basics, but about how to use the latest HTML5 and CSS3 features and functions in expert and innovative ways, particularly when it comes to combining them with different frameworks.
It goes without saying that you'll need to also be familiar with other necessary frameworks that go hand in hand with these technologies such as Bootstrap or other frameworks, LESS, SASS or similar preprocessing technologies and advanced skills, particularly when it comes to animation and creative programming.
7. JQuery
It goes without saying that Javascript is the glue that brings together the functional and dynamic elements of HTML and CSS.
Of course, using Javascript natively is a skill you'll need, but it is typically much more efficient and effective to use a library such as JQuery. This is essentially a library which is a collection of plugins, extensions, and shortcuts that make it faster to perform certain actions.
While jQuery might introduce some overhead, dependencies, and even potential conflicts, we believe that the advantages of using jQuery outweigh the disadvantages.
8. Node and Express
In the last few years, Javascript has transitioned from a frontend language to a backend language or a hybrid of the two. As with most concepts, frameworks such as Node.js ensure that your development time is well spent developing functionality is unique to your situation, rather than redeveloping common features and functions.
Nodejs and Express are two frameworks that are the most popular when it comes to using Javascript at the backend.
If you want to ensure that your Javascript skills are complete ensure that you are confident in your abilities in one of these two, or ideally both.
9. Version Control
The final and necessary skill you should master is that of version control. In all likelihood you will be working with an extended team of developers where you need to make sure that your work syncs well with the work of the rest of the team.
As you advance in your career, from developer to team lead to manager, you'll take on more responsibilities, with one of these being ensuring good version control between all of the developers in the team.
Advanced knowledge of version control concepts together with technologies such as GIT or other version control platforms will make sure that you have the right developer skills to take on higher roles within the development team you are part of.
Other Essential Skills
Of course, besides having such technical skills, you need to ensure that your developers also possess a number of soft skills that are essential to work as part of a team. These would include such things as:
- Integrity
- Effective team communication skills
- Teamwork and ability to be part of a team
- Be dependable
- Ability to adapt to different working circumstances and scenarios
- Leadership
- Conflict resolution
- Flexibility
- Open-mindedness
- Problem-solving skills - these are essential to be a successful developer
- Critical thinking
- Highly-organized
- Willingness to learn as necessary
These and other soft skills make any developer a critical part of a team. One needs to ensure that hard programming skills are balanced with the above soft skills. It is good to have a team of people where some are great at hard skills, while others are better in their soft skills
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you improve your Javscript skills?
As with all skills, Javascript skills are improved through practice. Whether you want to take a course, or tutorial and do it all yourself, you still need to get the practice hours on. As you practice, you make mistakes, you learn from those mistakes and your overall skillset improves overall.
How to learn Javascript skills fast?
In general, besides practice, you might want to take a paid course which is highly-rated. This is the easiest way to avoid some of the most common mistakes and shorten your learning path to Javascript and other code skills.
Conclusion: have you acquired these essential Javascript skills?
JavaScript developers are some of the most talented people in the world. However, if they don’t have the above skills, then they can only go so far with their knowledge and experience. Make sure to get these skills in your toolbox if you want to go far in the world of JavaScript developing.
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