As the tech industry continues to struggle with widespread layoffs and fierce competition for job opening, software engineers need more than just experience to compete for a new role, they need to be continuously developing new skills.
To that end, software developers consider .NET 5+ to be the most popular framework, and C# as the eighth most popular language, and their popularity keeps growing, according to the latest Stack Overflow Developers Survey. Given the massive investments into the .NET ecosystem, regular releases of new versions, and constant growth of development community, both C# and .NET makes it a sure bet to remain at the top of most popular technology lists. That makes them a prominent target for developers to learn and keep working with.
5 Things .NET Developers Need to Know to Stay Competitive
- Stay current on modern .NET and C# trends.
- Develop hands-on experience with front end frameworks like React and Angular.
- Learn how to work with cloud technologies.
- Have a basic awareness of how the build and deployment processes work.
- Gain practical experience with relational and non-relational databases.
This guide will explore the essential skills .NET developers need to focus on in order to stay in high demand and secure their jobs.
5 Skills .NET Developers Should Learn
.NET developers have always been more than just back end specialists. When developing desktop applications, they handle everything from the UI to business to data storage. In web application development, they handle the full cycle, from page markup, controls, and server API right to the database design.
Today, the perception of .NET developers as full-stack professionals has not only persisted but significantly strengthened. A competitive .NET developer is expected to know modern .NET and C#, front end, cloud platforms, DevOps and, of course, databases.
Does that sound overwhelming? Let’s break down what is behind these expectations.
1. Knowledge of Modern .NET and C#
Over the past few years, .NET has made a huge leap forward. A new version is released every year, bringing not only improved performance but also new capabilities. However, the main achievement is the almost painless migration process from one long-term support (LTS) version to another, allowing projects to be kept on the latest versions of the platform with minimal effort.
For developers, that implies the need to stay updated with key innovations like new JSON serialization, built-in source generators and new C# language features. It also includes related technologies, such as Entity Framework Core, which remains the standard for working with databases in .NET. These technologies get faster and offer more features within each version. It isn’t necessary to study every new feature in detail, but it’s worth reading about them to stay informed.
In addition, developers should stay updated on the platform’s fundamental features, such as asynchronous programming with async-await, multithreading, effective use of collections (including new collections) and memory management.
And don’t forget fundamental concepts like design patterns and basic principles of application architecture (at least variations of Clean/Onion architecture). These skills remain a solid foundation that should never be ignored.
2. Knowledge of Front End
Today, knowing one of the popular front end frameworks is almost a mandatory skill.
It’s hard to say which is more in demand — Angular or React. Angular is still more commonly used, especially in conjunction with .NET development, than React, but the difference isn’t significant.
The key question is: how well should you know it? While each project has unique requirements, the knowledge should be practical and hands-on, rather than just basic or theoretical. It’s useful to gain experience, for example, by developing a simple application as practice.
Also, prepare for projects that might not have dedicated front end developers.
3. Knowledge of Cloud
It is increasingly rare to encounter projects that don’t use cloud technologies at all. Knowledge of cloud has become an essential part of being a full-stack developer.
Azure is undoubtedly the most popular choice. However, it’s worth noting that AWS has recently become more .NET-friendly, and its share may increase significantly in the foreseeable future.
There is no need to be a certified architect to work with the cloud, but it’s crucial to have a basic understanding of what cloud technologies are and to have experience with the most popular cloud services. In the case of Azure, this includes Web Apps, Azure Functions, Azure Storage Account, Active Directory, and so on.
It would be remiss not to mention working with Docker when discussing cloud technologies. Containerization is a popular way to deploy not only applications but also various dependencies (not to mention its use directly in the development process). It’s essential to understand the basic principles of what containers are, how to package an application into a container, deploy it and understand what’s happening inside. The plain text of a Dockerfile should not cause panic, and words like "just spin up Redis in a container" shouldn’t sound like a foreign language.
4. Knowledge of DevOps
This is something many .NET developers don’t want to do but have to.
More and more projects are moving toward continuous releases, greatly facilitated by cloud technologies. This brings a whole new set of challenges, requiring developers to pay more attention to how their applications are built, what data they need, how they will communicate with other apps, and whether they can be deployed in different environments.
Basic knowledge of how build and deployment processes work can be an excellent asset in this area. Dedicate some time to gaining practical experience in setting up CI/CD using one of the popular tools, such as Azure DevOps, GitHub Actions, or Bitbucket Pipelines. While the details of these systems may vary, the concepts they are built on are very similar. Learning any one of them equips developers with knowledge and understanding applicable to the rest.
5. Knowledge of Databases
The ability to work with relational databases (especially Microsoft SQL) has always been and remains an essential skill for .NET developers. Today, there is an increasing demand not only for strong knowledge of relational databases but also for understanding and practical experience with non-relational databases like Azure Table Storage, Azure Cosmos DB and MongoDB.
This list is neither complete nor exhaustive. Pay attention to these technologies and, if possible, gain theoretical knowledge and practical experience with at least some of them.
Go Beyond the Essentials
The technologies, areas of knowledge, and tips overviewed in this guide are just the tip of the iceberg. Projects vary, and so do employer expectations.
Knowing common technologies like Kubernetes can be an advantage with employers. However, learning and knowing everything is impossible. Read about different technologies, understand what they can do, and know which problems they solve. When the need arises, you will know where to start and which direction to take.
