Software engineering – Page 2

Freelance and full-time opportunities for frontend developers

Posted on March 31, 2022March 31, 2022 by vallish

There are many reasons to become a frontend developer. The ability to create and improve user experience is not only fulfilling but a rewarding career. As a frontend developer, your role involves creating websites or web applications. As the technology is expanding, frontend developers are being tasked with more challenging goals. If creativity is something that inspires you and you can code in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, then there are too many opportunities for you.

Opportunities for Frontend Developers are aplenty. They are high in demand, both full-time as well as freelancers. In this article, we explore the opportunities available for frontend developers on both fronts.

Freelance vs full-time opportunities for Frontend Developers

About 1 in 6 frontend developers are self-employed. The trend took an upbeat ever since the pandemic has forced people to work from home. Today, most full-time, salaried frontend developers think about freelancing someday. While being a full-time frontend developer is a safer option, being a freelancer also comes with its perks.

If you are confused about choosing between the two, a comprehensive comparison of freelance vs full-time job opportunities for frontend developers will help you decide better.

We’ll start by exploring the pros and cons.

Autonomy

As a salaried frontend developer, you have the safety of a monthly paycheck but when it comes to autonomy, the flexibility is minimal. Freelancers are their own boss, this gives them full autonomy to decide their hourly rate, where they want to work from, and how to run the business. If you choose to become a freelance frontend developer you will have more control over the tech stack. You can solely decide the right approach for delivering a project. But as a full-time employee, you are part of a development team and have to stick to the decided tech stack and approach.

Flexibility

Arguably the most appealing aspect of becoming a freelance frontend developer is the extreme flexibility. You get to work from home, or a coworking space or can become a digital nomad without breaking a sweat. At times, you might be required to work from client offices but the change in environment is more frequent. If you crave a routine in your work life, you are better off as a full-time employee working Monday to Friday.

However, the flexibility in your lifestyle as a freelancer is unmatched. You can choose to work from anywhere and decide when you want to work and when not. Such a lifestyle is incompatible with most full-time positions.

More per hour earning

Freelance frontend developer jobs pay you more per hour than you would make as a full-time employee. Most freelance developers charge anywhere between $80 – $250 an hour, rates that most salaried frontend developers can ever hardly achieve. That being said, the rates strictly depend on your experience and skillset. Also, as a freelancer, you will have no perks or benefits like paid leaves or sick days. You will have to handle marketing, contract negotiations, meetings, and handle days when you will have not enough clients.

Choose your tech stack

You cannot do a lot if your employer does not approve of the tool or programming language you choose. As a freelancer, you’ll always have a choice to choose the clients who approve of your favorite tools and programming languages. Rather than working on an existing codebase, you will start greenfields projects, thereby avoiding a pile of spaghetti-code and errors. But this freedom will come with experience and when you are getting started you will have to accept whatever work is available.

Work-life balance

As a full-time frontend developer, you will have to stick to deadlines and may not be able to maintain a healthy work-life balance. Being a freelancer, however, allows you to manage your work-life balance more efficiently. While you still have to deliver projects on time, you have the flexibility to work from home and spend more time with your family.

Work-wise you can choose projects that interest you rather than getting frustrated and conform to your team’s way of working as a full-time developer.

How to become a freelance frontend developer?

Plan ahead

It is important to plan ahead to understand the industry needs your clients belong to. Start by putting in the research to discover what your target clients are asking for and what skills or strategies you need to achieve the tasks.

As mobile internet access is gaining popularity over desktop PC access, mobile frontend development principles are high in demand.

Specialize skills set

Most freelance jobs for frontend developers are focused on responsive design. While responsive design is a bid categorical term you might want to specialize in a particular growing field to land clients easily. Deciding on specialization will also help you build a portfolio to support your growth.

Ecommerce frontend development is one of the fastest-growing areas. You can master product pages, shopping carts and checkout processes to easily find freelance frontend developer jobs in this niche.

A strong online portfolio

There is no better way to showcase your talent and explain your skillset. Building a strong portfolio allows potential clients to instantly realize the knowledge and skills you possess. The more vivid and versatile your online portfolio is, the stronger your chances of getting clients will be.Talent500 has already helped hundreds of freelance frontend developers land global clients. Be part of our elite talent network to kickstart your freelance career. Sign up today.

How AI is changing DevOps

Posted on December 17, 2021December 17, 2021 by jagriti

While humans are capable of many unthinkable and often impossible feats, there are limitations. One particular area is in data handling, its management, analysis, and interpretation. With the sheer magnitude of incoming raw data, thanks to rapid digitalization, adoption of automation, and several other such factors, relying on human resources alone is inefficient. In a field like DevOps, where high efficiency, accuracy, and speed are all underpinning elements, it seems only natural that artificial intelligence models and technology are a perfect fit.

In fact, DevOps is now a critical piece of the enterprise IT environment, and both AI and ML are readily adopted to increase efficiency. Around 75% use AI and ML for testing and in some cases, this has caused an uptick in new code released by nearly 10X! Considering the nature of the job, it would be near-impossible to do it without the use of advanced technologies. Moreover, AI improves several key DevOps practices and allows teams to leverage their potential to the maximum. It reduces waste by handling large computing scenarios that would otherwise overwhelm human-led operation cycles.

However, recently AI’s application in the DevOps space has brought about rapid change. Several new advancements are afoot, and you should know about them to stay ahead. Read on to know how AI is transforming DevOps.

Improved security and tracking capabilities

A key prowess of AI and ML models is their ability to analyze volumes of data and do it at remarkable speeds with accuracy. As such, its application in tracking and security is undeniable. In a DevOps setting, this advantage comes in handy when analyzing threats and usage data for better optimizations. Since models can be designed to inspect and track user data at every touchpoint, DevOps teams can leverage to deliver a better user experience simply based on data collected by modules doing the heaviest lifting.

On to security, improved tracking capabilities can pinpoint areas in systems that are most vulnerable to breaches. AI better defense against DDOS attacks and can even lend a hand in fraud detection. Since AI models can be designed to spot unusual data patterns and can do this in real-time, tracking and stopping fraudulent acts is a lot more reliable.

Increased reliance on automation

DevOps inherently includes complex systems, run on distributed application environments and operational models. Keeping up and effectively absorbing information isn’t a simple undertaking, especially if it is completely manual. While DevOps does bring some level of automation to the table, AI betters it in every way. With AI, DevOps professionals can leverage the full power of automation to streamline tedious tasks in the operational cycle that were otherwise error-prone due to human involvement.

In fact, this reliance on AI-backed automation has gone so far as to institute systems that can self-heal without requiring external intervention. Essentially, AI can not only jump into the driver’s seat but can get the team there too! However, stubborn DevOps teams are resilient to this level of independent function, but it is only a matter of time until it becomes standard practice.

Swifter, more reliable pattern and anomaly detection

Complex application systems bring with them another problem area — error tracking and analysis. For instance, in an IoT environment with several microservices in use along with its numerous touchpoints, pinpointing failures with accuracy and speed simply isn’t possible. There are troves of raw data to go through and AI models can easily handle these without nearly as much effort. ML and AI models can be designed to look for abnormalities that trigger failure events and even suggest optimizations.

Naturally, when exposed to such analysis over time, these models can be trained to recognize patterns and employ predictive analysis. This lends itself to anomaly detection, which can be vital to DevOps cycles as teams can then address these directly in the development pipeline and ensure they make it out to the live version.

Better and refined access to data

An ever-present challenge to DevOps is the lack of access to complex data streams. With data gushing through every stream and data point in the system, professionals often struggle to keep up. AI models can address such a problem and deliver refined data from various sources and collate them for easy access. In fact, data trapped in siloed operations can also be harnessed to ensure that insight are meaningful.

Enhanced resource management

Certain AI tools lend themselves to non-technical business users, normally in charge of operations. With AI, data mapping and integration can be simplified, and this frees up the IT department for more high-value tasks. In fact, with better data integration, teams are in a better position to innovate, customize, optimize, and grow as the mundane and uninspiring tasks are no longer taking away time and effort. While it may seem like it could result in reduced collaboration, this isn’t the case. Unburdened by technical challenges, the focus is shifted to more big-picture undertakings, which often involve teams across departments to collaborate.

The integration of AI into DevOps is the natural cycle of advancement within the field of software development. There was a time when the traditional development life cycle distinguished development from operations, but in just a few years, it evolved into what we now know as DevOps. Similarly, a new acronym, AIOps, is taking hold and in this new model, the ‘Developer’ is no longer part of the equation. Is this the future of AI? It may still be too soon to tell, but developers would do well to upskill and branch out into other fields that work in line with this technology.

Those with skills that can leverage AI and drive development are sure to find themselves amongst the changemakers in the industry.

If you fit the bill and are looking to work at the bleeding edge of technology at some of the best Fortune 500 companies in the world, sign up on Talent500. The platform can help you take the next crucial step in your career and lay the foundation for your dream career amongst the best of the best.

The tech hubs of tomorrow

Posted on December 17, 2021December 17, 2021 by shanthamurthy

The pandemic catalyzed the shift to a digital working interface, and remote working opened the door to a world that many companies had not yet considered – recruiting across borders. Companies, especially when recruiting for tech roles, now have access to an unlimited pool of highly qualified technical talent from hubs across the globe.

A key factor that companies assess when choosing a country to migrate over a digital-run economy, is its readiness. More importantly, the existing infrastructure should be able to withstand the bandwidth-intensive spike in traffic.

Some additional factors taken by businesses when hiring globally include:

Existence, robustness, and resilience of platforms key to business continuity
Digital payment solutions in use to ensure seamless transactions

Research conducted at Tufts University’s Fletcher School measured the readiness of 42 countries in this regard. This data is important because it shows which locations have the required infrastructure and resilience to accommodate the needs of companies. The findings showed that advanced economies were usually better prepared and a better choice, but such was not always the case. The EU, for instance, was found lacking due to archaic infrastructure and many limitations.

So, which locations make the cut for ideal tech hotspots in a digital world? More importantly, can any of these locations emerge as tech hubs of tomorrow? Read on to find out.

Argentina

Among Latin American locations, Argentina is a hotspot for tech companies looking to find remote workers in the industry. Its IT sector has seen tremendous advancement over the past years, but its appeal to industry leaders is due to its talent pool.

Per Coursera’s Global Skills Index Report 2020, Argentina secured Rank 22 globally for Data Science Skills. Some of the categories in which it outdid other Latin American countries were:

Cybersecurity
Cloud computing
Application Programming Interface
Convolutional Neural Network
Web development
UX design
Internet of Things

That’s not all. The same year, Argentina also secured 1^st place in the global ranking in technology. The Argentinian government is also actively involved in the development of this sector, with one of its campaign goals centered around increasing the number of women in technological fields. As per a report, this has proven effective and is expected to grow to include 40% of females by 2024.

The wages for such professionals are another reason why tech companies are likely to jump at the opportunity to set up remote teams here. The average monthly income for software developers is about $1000, and can go up to double the amount based on seniority.

Poland

Nearly a quarter of the 1 million IT professionals in the Eastern and Central European regions live and work in Poland as per data published by Stack Overflow. For a country in the heart of the EU, the sheer numbers alone make it a tech hub for the world. Teams working in this region enjoy easy collaboration benefits, and their stable economy reduces the risk of attrition.

From an employer’s standpoint, Poland is one of the ideal locations to set up a remote team for a number of reasons:

Ranked 3^rd globally on the HackerRank challenges.
Nearly half, 43.5%, of the population has a tertiary level education across STEM fields.
Salaries in Poland can be up to 50% lower than the average salary in the US or Western Europe. In fact, the average salary is around $25,800, which is nearly 3X less than the salary offered in the US for the same quality of service.
Professionals often work with international companies and are proficient in English. Communication problems are few, and this is key for a remote team.

Brazil

With over 450,000 developers, Brazil has steadily become one of the locations that tech companies choose when hiring or setting up distributed teams. Much like the other Latin American powerhouse, Argentina, the IT infrastructure in Brazil is booming. Tech parks, accelerators, and high-density research centers churn out some of the most talented professionals, most of whom are sure to be assets.

A key reason why Brazil is soon to become the go-to in the future is because of its proximity to the United States. Collaboration is much easier, and top tech companies located in the valley won’t have trouble with the time difference and can work in real-time. Lastly, Brazil offers cost-effective talent that is reliable with high retention rates. The average yearly salary here is $18,043 and as the market isn’t as competitive, the risk of attrition is negligible.

India

India has always been known to be one of the most cost-effective locations for technology-related services. The country has more than 2 million people working within the IT sector, meaning that companies have a rich vein of talent to choose from.

Besides this, tech companies looking to set up remote teams in India also benefit from the fact that it is a cost-effective option and that it has a booming IT market. The average hourly wage for IT professionals in India is between $25 and $49 per hour, and it is possible to work with experts at a significantly cheaper rate. Communication is another plus point as English is a primary language. Combining the largest talent pool with the evolving IT sector, companies looking to set up efficient remote teams needn’t look any further.

According to Gartner, as many as 51% of knowledge-intensive workers like engineers and writers will work remotely by the end of 2021. This seems more than likely considering the vast pool of talent spread around the globe and tech companies are sure to leverage them to the maximum. However, choosing skilled workers from the tech hubs is just one-half of the battle. The other is extracting true value from the exchange. Oftentimes the price-to-quality ratio isn’t all that favorable. This is especially the case with remote software development teams and fixing issues could easily cost twice as much.

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Node.js vs. Django: How to pick the right development tool

Posted on December 9, 2021December 9, 2021 by vallish

A good web app or website interacts with users seamlessly, attracting them and keeping them engaged. This makes choosing the right developing tool a critical first step. However, this is no simple task, especially when you have to choose between two equally resourceful, robust, and popular technology stacks.

Node.js is a JavaScript-based cross-platform that can run on both the client and server sides. On the other hand, Django is a Python-based cross-platform that eliminates repetitive tasks, enabling speedy and agile web app development.

Both Node.js and Django are popular open-source frameworks, replete with unique features and functionalities. Choosing between the two can be difficult. To make a sound decision, take a look at this comparative analysis of the two frameworks and make a decision that best suits your needs.

Django

Django is a free, python-based web development framework that is open-source and designed on the model-view-controller architecture. This enables you to develop a powerful back-end to your web application speedily.

Popular web apps developed using Django

YouTube
Bitbucket
Spotify
Mozilla
Instagram
Dropbox
Disqus

Advantages of Django

Django is a resourceful framework that is not only easy to implement but also easy to learn. Anyone with basic knowledge of Python can master this framework in no time.
Django offers several in-built frameworks that enable the quick and easy development of web applications.
It offers strong security provisions.
Its resourceful framework is capable of running several complex and high-level processes.

Disadvantages of Django

While easy to learn and implement, Django is extensive and requires several lines of code. It may become infeasible for websites with low bandwidth.
Django is ideal for big, interactive, feature-heavy web applications. The performance of a small website with fewer features based on the Django framework deteriorates over time.
The framework can only support single-layered applications.
Django is not built to handle numerous individual requests simultaneously.

Node.js

Designed in 2009, the Node.js framework is based on C, C++, and JavaScript. Similar to Django, Node.js is an open-source platform, using which you can write on the client and server-side. The code is accessible outside the web portal, making Node.js a light and fast tool to build scalable network applications.

Popular web apps developed using Node.js

eBay
Medium
Uber
PayPal
NASA
Netflix
LinkedIn

Advantages of Node.js

It is a flexible and robust framework used to develop both the front-end and back-end of a project.
Node.js helps develop platforms that can be scaled both vertically and horizontally.
It is easy to use with minimum complications.
Node.js is a popular web development tool that has a widespread global community. As such, it is easily accessible and promotes easy troubleshooting.

Disadvantages of Node.js

It requires highly skilled web developers.
Its API changes frequently, resulting in effort-intensive code changes.
Node.js is not as secure.
It does not support coordinated programming, making it complicated for many developers.
It cannot handle intricate CPU-based tasks.

Decoding how Node.js and Django are different

Which developing tool should you choose?

Your choice of developing framework can define the success or failure of your web application. While both are robust and highly advanced frameworks, choosing one comes down to your web-app requirement and your preference. Using the above-mentioned information regarding various parameters, make an informed decision that aligns with your project requirements.

For example, if you require a web app with tight security features and have a short development window, choose Django. On the other hand, if you want to build a highly flexible, feature-heavy, and customizable web app, opt for the Node.js framework.

Remember, there is no wrong answer here! Choosing the one that helps deliver a successful project is pertinent. With enough experience and learning, you can make the right choice and deliver highly satisfying projects. These are the makings of a developer innovating at leading and renowned companies.

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