Backend Developer

☐ Python or Node.js · Required · 8 hrs

Pick one and go deep. Python FastAPI or Node.js/Express — both are widely used at top product companies.

• What is Python? Setup & Your First Program (Python): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/python/what-is-python-setup

☐ Linux & CLI · Required · 3 hrs

File system, process management, curl, ssh. You will debug production issues in a terminal.

• Linux and Shell Scripting for Data Engineers (Data Engineering): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/data-engineering/linux-shell

☐ Git & GitHub · Required · 2 hrs

Branching, pull requests, resolving conflicts. Non-negotiable for any tech job.

• Git and Version Control for Data Projects (Data Engineering): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/data-engineering/git-for-data

☐ DSA & Algorithms · Required · 30+ hrs

Arrays, strings, trees, graphs, DP. LeetCode Easy + Medium. DSA is what unlocks $130K+ roles — do not skip.

• Complexity — The Scoreboard for Code (Data Structures & Algorithms): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/dsa/complexity
• Arrays (Data Structures & Algorithms): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/dsa/arrays
• Hashing (Data Structures & Algorithms): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/dsa/hashing
• Dynamic Programming (Data Structures & Algorithms): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/dsa/dynamic-programming

☐ SQL & PostgreSQL · Required · 5 hrs

JOINs, indexes, transactions, EXPLAIN. Every backend role touches a relational database.

• Your First Query — SELECT & FROM (SQL): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/sql/select-from
• Introduction to Joins (SQL): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/sql/joins-intro
• Grouping Data — GROUP BY (SQL): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/sql/group-by
• Subqueries — Queries Inside Queries (SQL): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/sql/subqueries

☐ REST API Design · Required · 5 hrs

HTTP verbs, status codes, versioning, request validation, pagination. The daily output of a backend engineer.

☐ Auth (JWT / OAuth) · Required · 4 hrs

JWT tokens, refresh flow, OAuth 2.0, bcrypt. Every app needs authentication.

☐ Redis & Caching · Required · 4 hrs

In-memory caching, TTL, pub/sub, session storage. Reduces DB load and is a system design staple.

☐ Message Queues · Recommended · 5 hrs

Kafka or RabbitMQ for async processing. Decouples services and handles high throughput — common at DoorDash, Uber Eats, Stripe.

• Message Brokers and Queues — Internal Mechanics (Data Engineering): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/data-engineering/message-brokers-queues
• What is Apache Kafka? (Apache Kafka): https://chaduvuko.com/learn/apache-kafka/what-is-apache-kafka

☐ Docker · Required · 3 hrs

Containers, Dockerfile, docker-compose for local dev. Modern backend code ships in containers.

☐ Testing (Unit + Integration) · Required · 5 hrs

pytest / Jest, test doubles, integration tests with a real DB. Untested code is a production incident waiting to happen.

☐ System Design · Required · 15 hrs

Load balancers, CAP theorem, consistent hashing, rate limiting, designing URL shorteners / payment systems. The gating round for $150K+ offers.

☐ Microservices · Recommended · 8 hrs

Service decomposition, inter-service communication, API gateway, distributed tracing. How big tech startups structure their systems.

☐ Cloud Deploy (AWS / Azure) · Required · 6 hrs

EC2, Lambda, RDS, managed services. Knowing cloud is the difference between a notebook engineer and a production engineer.