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Full Stack Developer vs Mean Stack Developer: A Detailed Comparison

There are high chances that you guys would come across these two terminologies-Full Stack Developer and MEAN Stack Developer somewhere when a company is hiring different sorts of developers. You may have wondered what they are and what’s the difference between them. Are they responsible for the same sorts of development? Do they possess the same skills and attractive full and mean stack development services?

All of your queries and doubts will be answered in this blog but before jumping into the main course, we need to understand the web structure first. Since it will help you better understand the difference between full stack developer and Mean stack developer and their usability for a web app or mobile app development accordingly.

Basically, a website you see on the internet consists of two major components- frontend and backend. The frontend is meant for users, i.e all the elements that a user can see or click on fall into frontend development. It consists of forms, text content, buttons, images, and other media. These things can easily be created and manipulated using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with their libraries.

On the other hand, the backend is everything that a normal user can’t see and have no understanding about how it’s done. Fundamentally, backend development is all about everything that the server does from all the logical processing to the functionalities running in the background. Backend remains responsible for storing, retrieving data, and calculating results.

As we have known, these two components are entirely different and do require various tools and techniques to work properly, we will proceed further. For your information, these tools and techniques are the difference between full-stack and mean stack developers.

Full Stack Developer vs Mean Stack Developer

Full-Stack Developer

As the name suggests, a full stack developer is a web developer who is capable of handling both the front end and back end development of a website or application. I.e. from consulting with clients to building user interfaces and databases, full-stack developers can tackle an entire project single-handedly.

Skills of a Full Stack Developer

  • Command over one or more front end languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Proficient in any back-end programming language like Python, PHP, or Ruby.
  • Hands-on experience in UI/UX, Visual Design, Project Design, Project Management, etc. as optional.

Such skills of full-stack developers keep them high in demand and a lot of employers are always on the lookout to hire full-stack developers. And that is because these people not only handle the front end and back end of a website or application but also can be used in different designations in the company.

After knowing the skills and demands of full-stack developers, let’s dig a little deeper and know about their responsibilities as well as eligibility criteria.

Responsibilities of Full Stack Developer

  • Drafting website architecture for the front end.
  • Designing user interactions on web pages.
  • Working with graphic designers to discuss and create web design features.
  • Developing backend for websites or applications.
  • Creating servers and databases for functionality.
  • Designing and developing APIs.
  • Ensuring responsiveness of applications.
  • Ensuring cross-platform optimization for mobile phones.
  • Tracking and monitoring a project from conception to finished product.
  • Ensuring both technical and consumer needs.

Eligibility Criteria of Full Stack Developer:

The following are the eligibility parameters any business or a full stack development company will look for before hiring a full stack developer.

  • Degree in Computer Science.
  • Command over fundamental front-end languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
  • Proficiency with at least one server-side scripting language out of Python, Ruby, PHP, .NET, and Java.
  • Familiarity with JavaScript frameworks such as Ember, React, and AngularJS.
  • Proficiency with database technology such as MySQL, MongoDB, and Oracle.
  • Strong organizational and project management skills
  • Strong problem-solving skills, excellent verbal communication skills, and attention to detail.

MEAN Stack Developer

A developer or engineer who is proficient in some particular areas alone is known as a Mean Stack Developer. If we talk about Mean stack development, it is something that is processed via a particular set of technologies including MongoDB, Expressjs, AngularJs, NodeJs. In a more simplified way, we can refer to Mean stack developers as JS-based application developers.

After learning about the Mean Stack development and developers, it’s time to learn about the MEAN stack individually.

MEAN stack is simply a set of technologies that a developer can use as a full-stack to develop robust websites and applications.

MEAN stands for

  • M–MongoDB is a NoSQL database.
  • E-Express is a framework used with Node.
  • A-Angular is a front-end framework.
  • N-Node is a backend framework.

As you can see that these sets of technologies here are all JavaScripts, therefore, a good MEAN Stack developer should possess extensive JavaScript knowledge.

Mean stack technologies are primarily used for

  • MongoDB: performs the duty of storing and retrieving data.
  • ExpressJS: responsible for making a request to the database and returning a response against the request.
  • AngularJS: It accepts requests and returns results to the end-users.
  • NodeJS: Responsible for handling client and server requests.

To make it more clear, a developer who has the ability to use the above-mentioned stack of technologies is clearly known as a Mean Stack developer.

Responsibilities of MEAN Stack Developers

  • Proficient in managing MongoDB, Express js, AngularJS, and NodeJS.
  • Hands-on experience in designing, developing, testing, and deploying robust products that are fast, scalable, and responsive.
  • Capable of designing and handling large and complex databases, both relational and non-relational.
  • Expert in defining, choosing, and integrating development tools and software as needed.
  • Reviewing and identifying issues of production and non-production products as a part of the deployment.
  • Product deployment on AWS cloud alongside debugging hosting-related issues as quickly as possible.

Eligibility Criteria of Mean Stack Developer

The following are the eligibility parameters any business or a MEAN Stack development company will look for before hiring a MEAN stack developer.

  • Capable of handling web and app development projects individually.
  • Proficient in MEAN stack-MongoDB, Express js, Angular js, and Node js.
  • Expertise in programming languages such as MySQL, PHP, jQuery, Symfony, OOPS.
  • Experienced in managing servers with mandatory AWS knowledge.
  • Proficient in handling and leading a team of developers.
  • Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.

Wrapping Up

Hopefully, the provided comparison of Full Stack Developer and Mean Stack Developer will clear all your doubts and questions. And, you can freely decide on which one to choose for your next web and app development project. If still having queries about choosing the best, you can consult a trusted web and mobile app development company that offers a comprehensive range of development aids including Mean Stack development services. You can either hire a full stack developer or a mean stack developer as per your convenience and project requirements. 

My name is Hemendra Singh. I am Managing Director and Co-Founder of  The NineHertz, a Mean Stack Web Development. My ideology is that a clear vision and hard work build a great company. I started my career in Information and Technology 10 years back as a new-age Entrepreneur in emerging digital India.DevOps consulting services from The NineHertz transform your organization by bringing together software development(Dev) and IT operations to deliver better products to customers in less time. Our certified DevOps engineers are proficient in shortening the systems development life cycle and provide continuous delivery of high-quality software. Hire DevOps engineer expert from us to ramp up your business productivity in a quick turnaround time.Hire .Net Developers to fuel productivity in web application development and boost your business growth. With extensive expertise in .Net development, our dot net developers are skilled in creating. NET-based applications by using multiple programming languages.The NineHertz is a top-notch .Net Development solution provider that develops robust, secure, and scalable form-based and web-based applications for global clientele. Outsource the development of your desktop and web application to our dedicated and experienced team of dedicated .net developers.

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