Knowing a Bit of Frontend and Backend - Does That Make You a Full-Stack Engineer?

Last night I saw someone asking this question in our group chat again, which reminded me of my own confusion when I first started working.

Here's what happened: a young developer said, "I'm pretty good with Vue and can write some Node.js APIs. Can I put 'Full-Stack Engineer' on my resume?"

Then the group exploded:

Someone said: "Of course! If you know both frontend and backend, you're full-stack."

Others said: "Come on, knowing two frameworks makes you dare to call yourself full-stack?"

And one senior developer just dropped: "Are full-stack engineers this shallow nowadays?"

To be honest, I was confused about this question before. When I just graduated, I also wrote some Vue on the frontend and some Express on the backend, thinking I was awesome, boldly writing "Full-Stack Development Engineer" on my resume.

Then I got stumped during interviews: "You say you're full-stack, so how was your project's database designed? What's your caching strategy? What about the deployment process?"

Me: ???

That's when I realized my understanding of "full-stack" was too shallow.

What Exactly Is Full-Stack?

It took me several years to figure out this question.

Let me share my understanding. Many people think full-stack is just frontend + backend - being able to write pages and APIs. But it's actually much more than that.

I remember chatting with a friend from Alibaba once, and he said something that really stuck with me: "Full-stack isn't about knowing everything, it's about being able to handle everything."

What does that mean? When you receive a requirement, you can build it from start to finish, not just handle one part of it.

For example, when a product manager tells you: "We need to build a user management system."

If you're a specialized frontend developer, you might say: "Sure, give me the API documentation."

If you're a specialized backend developer, you might say: "Sure, give me the UI design mockups."

But if you're full-stack, you'd say: "Sure, when do you need it?"

Then you start thinking: How to design the database, how to define the APIs, what frontend tech stack to use, how to deploy, how to monitor...

That's the difference.

Technical Areas Full-Stack Engineers Need to Understand

I've organized what a complete web project roughly involves:

Frontend:
- HTML/CSS/JavaScript fundamentals
- Modern frameworks (React/Vue/Angular)
- State management (Redux/Vuex/Zustand)
- Build tools (Webpack/Vite/Rollup)
- CSS preprocessors (Sass/Less) or CSS-in-JS
- Package managers (npm/yarn/pnpm)

Backend:
- Server-side languages (Node.js/Python/Java/Go)
- Web frameworks (Express/Koa/Django/Spring Boot)
- API design (RESTful/GraphQL)
- Authentication and authorization (JWT/OAuth)
- File upload and processing
- Email sending, SMS, push notifications

Database:
- Relational databases (MySQL/PostgreSQL)
- NoSQL databases (MongoDB/Redis)
- Database design and optimization
- ORM/ODM usage
- Data migration and backup

DevOps:
- Linux server operations
- Docker containerization
- CI/CD pipelines
- Cloud services (AWS/Aliyun/Tencent Cloud)
- Domain and SSL certificate configuration
- Monitoring and logging

Seeing this list, do you still think knowing Vue + Node.js makes you full-stack?

Different Types of "Full-Stack Engineers"

Based on my observations over the years, there are roughly these types of people who call themselves full-stack engineers:

Type 1: The "I Can Do It All" Type

This is the most common type. They've touched a bit of everything but aren't deep in anything.

Frontend: Can write some Vue components, knows basic CSS. Backend: Can build a few CRUD APIs. Database: Knows some basic SQL. Deployment: Can upload files via FTP.

This type usually gets exposed during interviews. When asked about specifics, they start to stutter.

I used to be this type. I thought knowing how to npm install and node app.js made me a backend expert.

Type 2: The "One Strong, Others Weak" Type

These people are very strong in one area but have some understanding of others.

For example, a frontend expert who also knows some backend, or a backend expert who can write some frontend code.

This type is actually quite valuable because they can communicate effectively with other roles and understand the overall technical architecture.

My current colleague Xiao Wang is like this. He's primarily backend-focused, very skilled with Spring Boot and MySQL optimization, but he also understands React and can modify frontend pages when needed.

Type 3: The "True Full-Stack" Type

These people have solid skills across multiple areas and can independently complete entire projects.

They might not be the absolute best in any single area, but they're competent enough in each area and, most importantly, they understand how different parts work together.

I know a senior developer who can:

• Design reasonable database schemas
• Write efficient backend APIs
• Build user-friendly frontend interfaces
• Set up automated deployment pipelines
• Handle performance optimization and troubleshooting

When the company needed to quickly develop an internal tool, he completed it alone in two weeks, from requirement analysis to going live.

Type 4: The "Architect" Type

This is the highest level. They not only have technical skills but also possess system design thinking.

When faced with a requirement, they don't just think about how to implement it, but consider:

• How will this system scale?
• What happens when user volume increases?
• How to ensure system stability?
• How to reduce maintenance costs?

I once worked with such a senior architect. When we discussed a simple user registration feature, I was thinking about form validation and database storage.

But he was thinking: "User registration will have peak periods, we need rate limiting. User data is sensitive, we need encryption. Future user growth might require database sharding. We should also consider social login integration..."

When I suggested using a simple MySQL table, he said: "Database read-write separation, hot data in Redis, static resources on CDN."

That's the difference. He was thinking about the entire system architecture while I was just thinking about how to write code.

How to Know If You're Full-Stack?

After all this discussion, how do you actually judge if you're a full-stack engineer?

I think the simplest way is to ask yourself a few questions:

First question: Can you independently build a complete project?

Not just a demo, but a real, usable project. From requirement analysis to going live, you handle everything yourself.

I remember when I first built a project independently, it was an inventory management system for a friend's small company. Frontend with Vue, backend with Node.js, database with MySQL, deployed on Alibaba Cloud.

Although the functionality was simple, I handled everything from start to finish. That's when I felt I was getting started.

Second question: When you encounter problems, do you know which direction to investigate?

Full-stack engineers don't know everything, but they know a bit about everything and know which direction to investigate when problems arise.

For example, if the website is slow, you know it could be uncompressed frontend resources, slow database queries, insufficient server configuration, or network issues.

You might not be expert in each area, but at least you know these possibilities exist, then you can research and solve them accordingly.

Third question: Can you communicate with people in different roles?

Full-stack engineers often need to work with product managers, designers, DevOps, testers, and other roles.

You can understand product managers' requirements, grasp designers' ideas, cooperate with DevOps on deployment, and help testers find bugs.

This communication ability is actually very important because you serve as a bridge between different tech stacks.

Give Yourself a Challenge

If you want to verify your level, try building a project like this:

Build a simple task management system with requirements:

1. Users can register and login
2. Can create, edit, and delete tasks
3. Tasks can have priority and deadlines
4. Has simple statistics functionality

Technical requirements:

• Frontend using a framework you're familiar with (React/Vue both work)
• Backend of your choice (Node.js/Python/Java all fine)
• Database using MySQL or PostgreSQL
• Finally deploy to a server accessible via domain

If you can independently complete this project, from designing the database to going live, you can basically say you're a full-stack engineer.

Of course, this is just entry-level. The real full-stack journey is still long.

Some Practical Advice

1. Don't Try to Eat the Whole Elephant at Once

I've seen too many people wanting to quickly become full-stack, resulting in only superficial knowledge of each technology.

My advice is: get solid in one direction first, then learn others.

For example, if you're from a frontend background, first master frontend thoroughly - understand React/Vue principles, figure out webpack configuration, understand browser rendering mechanisms.

Then learn backend, and you'll find it much easier because you already have programming fundamentals and thinking patterns.

2. More Hands-On, Less Tutorials

There are too many tutorials online now. Many people watch tons of tutorials but get confused when they actually code.

My experience is: watching tutorials is just the first step, the key is to build projects yourself.

Even if following tutorials, type the code yourself and solve problems when you encounter them.

Only this way can you truly master these technologies.

3. Learn to Ask Questions and Research

Full-stack engineers often encounter various strange problems. Learning to ask questions and research is important.

When asking questions, describe clearly:

• What functionality you want to implement
• What problem you're encountering
• What methods you've already tried
• Share relevant code and error messages

This way others can help you.

When researching, official documentation is the first choice, then Stack Overflow, and finally various blogs and tutorials.

4. Maintain a Learning Mindset

Technology updates too fast. Today's popular framework might be outdated tomorrow.

But don't panic, the underlying principles don't change. HTTP protocols, database principles, algorithms and data structures - once you learn these fundamentals, new frameworks and tools are easy to pick up.

The key is maintaining a learning mindset, not thinking you already know everything.

Final Words

Back to the original question: knowing a bit of frontend and backend - does that make you a full-stack engineer?

I think the question itself is problematic.

Full-stack engineer isn't a label you can slap on after learning a few technologies.

It's more like an ability - the ability to solve problems.

If you can independently complete a project from requirement analysis to going live, then you're a full-stack engineer.

If you can only write a few lines of frontend code and build a few backend APIs but get lost when facing complex problems, then you're not there yet.

But that's okay, everyone has a growth process.

When I first started working, I didn't know anything either. I learned slowly, accumulated gradually, and reached today's level.

So instead of worrying about whether you're a full-stack engineer, focus on steadily improving your technical abilities.

Build more projects, encounter more problems, summarize more - you'll naturally become a full-stack engineer.

---

Finally, if you found this article helpful, please like and share.

If you have different opinions, feel free to discuss in the comments.

I'm Lafu Code, a programmer stumbling and learning on the tech journey. See you next time!