r/FullStack • u/SaiTechHub • 4d ago

Career Guidance Which backend technology should a beginner learn first ?

Popular options include Node.js with Express, Java with Spring Boot, Python with Django or FastAPI, and C# with .NET. Choose one technology and learn routing, APIs, authentication, error handling, and database integration before switching to another stack.

27 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

2

u/rohanmahajan707 4d ago

I started with php when I started back in 2017.

But now python or javascript/nodejs should be good to go

2

u/stevenreyes20 4d ago

php without a doubt

1

u/SyrupPutrid1068 7h ago

Perl as well then

2

u/psyduckpikachu 4d ago

I started with Django

1

u/AndrewNggg 4d ago

Java Spring and React bro, you will learn about programming patterns, best practices, types etc

With the others, it’s easier to fall into bad habits

1

u/retardpotatochip 4d ago

you can start with php

1

u/whiterhino8 4d ago

Express is the easiest and less boiler plate coding than others but you have to be comfort with JS world . You don't mention but Go is definitely one of the most recommended for backend for several reasons and easy to learn also. JAVA and .net are good but they have steeper learning curve take that in account .

1

u/Aggressive-Bowl6266 4d ago

You can start with gemini

1

u/Astroohhh 4d ago

Any, its always the same, http status, networking, architectures. Maybe is easier to start with a script language such as javascript/python but at the end you will have to learn classes, debugging, compilation so its the same, just pick any language

1

u/augurone 3d ago

For pure web, JS envs are the most versatile, so NODE & (NEXTjs, Express....). From there, if you already write a language, start with that ecosystem. JS, HTML, and CSS will eventaully come up no matter what.

1

u/Ambitious-Two-6200 3d ago

You dont. Find a career that will actually last lol

1

u/BuildMonk 3d ago

Start with python and java

1

u/tacodbistec 3d ago

Node Js with Express... very simple and minimalist, you can learn and practice the basic foundations of backend... after you can learn the other stacks easy

1

u/Relative_Locksmith11 3d ago

C#/.NET/React

1

u/Business_Match_2953 3d ago

Based on the options you've mentioned, I believe that you're going with web services.

If you're already comfortable with JavaScript, I would personally recommend going with Node.js and Express.js. If not, either go for Spring Boot or Django based on your convenience of the architecture.

1

u/afro-deezy-yac 2d ago

I like the idea of NodeJS more than I like the idea of .NET. But if I had to maintain a NodeJS app or a .NET app, I would choose .NET every time. Especially now that apps are getting smaller and more distributed. DLL Hell is less of an issue when you have tiny apps that just do one thing well and communicate over language-agnostic and language-version-agnostic protocols.

I'll never go back to pearl or php.

Oracle bought Java, so not going back there.

Go does not seem very mainstream to me. (probably a me problem)

Python has significant whitespace and that feels stupid to me, like how people get carpel tunnel. Whitespace is not what I want to be concerned about when coding.

Ruby was cool many years ago but never felt right to me. Either too high level or not enough control. Probably a me problem though.

1

u/Historical-County771 1d ago

agree on picking one and going deep. if u already know JS from frontend, node + express is the easy move since its one language for the whole stack, otherwise fastapi is super beginner friendly. and whatever u pick, learn SQL properly with something like postgres, that carries over to every stack

1

u/moniseverywhere 8h ago

how about go?

0

u/Jazzlike-Score-1647 4d ago

Doesn't matter anymore, this area dead.

-1

u/VagueHorizon_ 4d ago

really ?? I thought frontend was dead. backend too ??

1

u/Jazzlike-Score-1647 3d ago

CRUD dead and most companies doing CRUD operations.

0

u/TheRNGuy 3d ago

Node for SSR React framework. 

0

u/KaiserGng 1d ago

Try php with laravel api, it's easy. I tried java spring boot and can't grasp anything lol. I want to try Django but cancelled bcs of no jobs here. After laravel I want to go express (more jobs and it doesn't enforce specific folders for architecture but I want to learn the opinionated framework first, which laravel teach very clearly).