Exploring the career path of a Ruby on Rails developer

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If you decided to become a RoR developer, you are probably wondering what would your career path look like. We are here to help. There are many ways for you to progress and advance on your way to the top.

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Let’s explore the career path of a Ruby on Rails developer. We discuss the RoR career and whether it is a good one. We explained why Ruby on Rails is still in demand and checked the growth path of such developers.

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Is Ruby on Rails good for a career?

Yes, Ruby on Rails is a great career, and their lucrative salaries can confirm that. Ruby programming language is the fourth top-paying technology in 2023, according to Stack Overflow.

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Also, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 25% increase in the job outlook for RoR developers. This shows us that the Ruby on Rails industry has an exceptional growth ratio. Such figures make it a highly appealing employment opportunity.

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Many job boards and hiring platforms, such as LinkedIn, are full of RoR job ads. Many companies, both big and small, are in search to hire a Ruby on Rails developer. 

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Is a career in Ruby on Rails development still in high demand?

Yes, Ruby on Rails developers are in high demand. It might not be popular as Angular or Django frameworks, but it is in the top 20 most popular frameworks. It says so in the research from Stack Overflow. RoR took 18th place out of the 34 most popular web frameworks and technologies. 

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These figures indicate that RoR is still in high demand. A large number of businesses also use this framework. Here are some most popular apps that are made with RoR:

• Shopify
• Kickstart
• SoundCloud
• Basecamp
• Zendesk
• Udemy

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How long does it take to become a Ruby on Rails developer?

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You can learn the Ruby on Rails framework in 3 to 4 months if you have some experience in other programming languages or web frameworks. If you don’t have any experience, it can last about a year for you to learn Ruby on Rails. Also, having knowledge of other languages like Python, HTML, and CSS can help you learn RoR faster. 

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The precise answer will depend on three major factors:

• Your previous experience and knowledge in web frameworks and programming languages
• Your skill set
• Your time for learning 

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If you have some experience, you will learn faster. If you devote more time, you will also learn faster. It depends on you, your capabilities, and your free time. 

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How to become a Ruby On Rails developer

No matter how old you are or how much experience you have, you can become a Ruby on Rails developer. All you need to do is start with the basics and devote some decent time to learning and practicing. 

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If you don’t want to do it by yourself, you can always attend the University of computer science and get a diploma. But if you do, there are many different ways how you can start learning. The best thing to do is to combine different methods. This includes:

• Online educational courses like the ones on Udemy, Coursera, and EdX;
• Diverse RoR and Ruby books;
• RoR community;
• RoR podcasts;
• YouTube videos and tutorials.

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Each one of them has advantages. You want to start with learning the basics of necessary programming languages. This includes Ruby but also CSS and HTML. 

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Learn at your own pace. Mix the methods you prefer the most. Don’t be afraid to try new things and make mistakes. It's all part of the learning process. Check out our blog on how to become a Ruby on Rails developer for more practical advice.

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Exploring the career path of a Ruby on Rails developer

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With Ruby on Rails, you will have many career path options. The need for Ruby on Rails talent is expanding significantly. Professionals with RoR experience are in high demand across the world. Thus, choosing to be one is great career path.

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There are three levels as you progress as an RoR developer:

• Entry-level or junior (1 to 2 years of experience);
• Mid-level or intermediate (2 to 5 years of experience);
• Senior-level or professional (5+ years of experience).

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In the beginning, you will be an entry-level or junior developer. These are RoR developers with up to 2 years of experience. You should be fluent in one or two languages/frameworks and have experimented with a few others.

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As a Ruby on Rails junior developer, you will be able to do:

• Creating a rail environment;
• Database Administration;
• Request handling;
• Managing a database;
• Knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript;
• Different application development tasks;
• Other entry-level responsibilities of a ROR developer.

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Once you have more than 2 years of experience, you become an intermediate Ruby on Rails developer. As you progress and learn more, you will be able to:

• Associations of active records;
• Require knowledge of object orientation;
• Design patterns.

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When you reach 5 and more years of experience, you will become a senior-level Ruby on Rails developer. With such experience, you will have knowledge in:

• Database modeling;
• High analytical skills;
• High monitoring skills;
• Ruby Metaprogramming;
• Estimation and planning.

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If you want to be a RoR developer, you'll have plenty of options to further your career. New opportunities will arise as you advance in your technical skills and expertise. You'll have the option to be a developer and continue working with writing codes. But you can also be a team leader and become a project manager. You will work with your teammates and other developers. 

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The ROR developer has a bright future all over the world. In recent years, the demand for Ruby on Rails has doubled. So a developer with such skills will have many open doors. 

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Advantages of being a Ruby on Rails developer

Let’s see what kind of advantages you can have in your career path as a Ruby on Rails developer.

• Access to one of the greatest and largest online communities;
• Great opportunities for career advancements;
• Lucrative salaries that are constantly on the rise;
• A great option for practicing creating diverse apps and websites;
• Highly diverse career. You can do so many things with being a RoR developer, such as being a web developer, back-end developer, or even a project manager. 
• RoR is compatible with Machine Learning when using it with Ruby. This means that your career in the future is safe.

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In conclusion 

Being a RoR developer means having a lucrative salary with many career opportunities. The framework is still in high demand, so your path should be easy and fruitful. We helped you to estimate how much time you will need to become proficient in the RoR framework. But also, we explored the career path of a Ruby on Rails developer. 

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