Python Backend Developer Skills Table
Skill Area Specific Skills Importance Notes
Functions, OOP, file I/O, error Foundation for
Python Core ✅ Core
handling, virtualenv, pip everything
HTTP methods, status codes,
Web Basics ✅ Core Needed to build APIs
REST, JSON, APIs
MVT, ORM, admin panel, auth, Good for monolithic
Django ✅ Core
DRF apps
Routing, Jinja2 templates, Simple, great for
Flask ✅ Core
extensions microservices
Async support, Pydantic, routing, Best choice for async
FastAPI ✅ Core
dependency injection APIs
Async async/await, asyncio, concurrent Powers high-
✅ Core
Programming tasks performance services
PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite, Required for almost
Databases ✅ Core
basic SQL all apps
Django ORM, SQLAlchemy, Map Python code to
ORMs ✅ Core
Tortoise ORM, SQLModel databases
CRUD, filtering, pagination, auth, Main job of a backend
API Development ✅ Core
token-based access dev
JWT, OAuth2, sessions, refresh Needed for secure
Authentication ✅ Core
tokens apps
Design patterns, service Used in all large-scale
Microservices ✅ Core
communication (REST), separation systems
NGINX, Kong (optional), service
API Gateway ⭐ Optional Needed in large apps
routing
Images, containers, Dockerfiles, For packaging and
Docker ✅ Core
Docker Compose running services
Git, GitHub Actions, CI/CD, Automate testing and
DevOps Basics ✅ Core
environment variables deployment
Heroku, Render, DigitalOcean, Host your projects
Deployment ✅ Core
Railway online
Not needed early but
Cloud Services AWS (EC2, S3), GCP, Azure ⭐ Optional useful
Caching, pub/sub, task queues
Redis ⭐ Optional Boosts performance
(with Celery)
For document-based
MongoDB NoSQL, flexible schemas ⭐ Optional apps
Real-time communication (chat, Needed in real-time
WebSockets ⭐ Optional
notifications) systems
Skill Area Specific Skills Importance Notes
Background For async jobs like
Celery, FastAPI background tasks ⭐ Optional
Tasks email, PDF gen
Logging & For production
logging, Sentry, Prometheus ⭐ Optional
Monitoring readiness
FastAPI-limiter, Redis-based
Rate Limiting ⭐ Optional Prevent abuse of APIs
limiters
Scaling, orchestration of Docker ⭐ Optional For cloud-native
Kubernetes
containers (Advanced) deployments
Query language for APIs (with
GraphQL ⭐ Optional Alternative to REST
Strawberry or Ariadne)
Ensures your APIs
Unit Testing PyTest, unittest, Postman, Swagger ✅ Core
work correctly
Swagger/OpenAPI, FastAPI auto Important for team
Documentation ✅ Core
docs and users
GitHub Actions, GitLab CI,
CI/CD Tools ✅ Core Automate deployment
Jenkins
Required for team
Version Control Git, branching, merging, PRs ✅ Core
work
🏗️ Real Projects You Should Build
Project Key Skills Covered
📝 Notes API (CRUD) Flask, REST, SQL
🛒 E-commerce Microservices Django/FastAPI, Docker, PostgreSQL, JWT
💬 Async Chat App FastAPI, WebSockets, Redis
📈 Blog API + Auth FastAPI, Pydantic, PostgreSQL
📦 Task Queue System FastAPI, Celery, Background tasks
🧠 LLM API wrapper FastAPI, OpenAI API, async I/O
📊 SaaS Dashboard Full-stack app, Docker, microservices, auth
✅ Learning Focus by Year
Year Focus Areas
2024 Python, Django, Flask, SQL, REST, Git, GitHub
2025 FastAPI, Async, Microservices, Docker, CI/CD
Year Focus Areas
2026 Real projects, Redis, advanced auth, optional DevOps/AI
