How can you become an ASP.NET developer

06 Mar 2024

Beginner

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How can you become an ASP.NET developer?

ASP.NET is a web development platform that presents an all-inclusive software infrastructure, programming model, and different services needed to build efficient web applications for mobile devices and PCs. In other words, it is a technology that functions on the .NET framework containing all web-related functionalities.

Basically, .NET is a composite of two famous languages VB.NET and C#. To kick start a career on this platform, .NET developers can learn any of these languages. Both these languages can accomplish the same functions. .NET developers can select any of them at their convenience.

.NET Developers are those technical professionals who can develop software applications by the use of the .NET infrastructure by Microsoft. They can create web, mobile, and desktop applications that are secure and faster. Their job profile involves the role of developing software applications through the.NET framework. It is known that .NET developers are accountable for the entire development process ranging from writing the code to storing, testing, and finding errors. Hence, they can create an interactive application. Before diving deep into the details of how to become an ASP.NET developer, let’s first understand their roles and responsibilities:

Roles and responsibilities of ASP.NET Developers

Generating code through .NET languages (C#, VB .NET)
Developing text-based applications and testing them by running on .NET based applications
Upgrading, building up and debugging existing systems
Risk estimation
Preparing the procedure and policy documents to execute applications
Revise, update, and debug code
Offering technical support for desktop, web, or mobile applications
Collaborating with internal teams to generate software design and architecture
Developing documentation all through the software development life cycle (SDLC)

List of some additional responsibilities of ASP.NET Developers

In addition to the core responsibilities discussed above, a .NET Developer may have some additional responsibilities as listed below:

Designing backend database for the web application
Finding out details about the cutting-edge tools and technologies that can improve the performance and features of the application
Understanding the software lifecycle and deciding the modifications required according to observations and feedback of the testing professionals
Providing technical support to the client and guide end-users for the concluding product
Ensuring the compatibility of websites with new operating system versions and software

Important skills ASP.NET Developers should learn:

C# programming language
.NET Basics
SQL database
NET Core
Basics of data types, variables, objects, methods, loops, LINQ, etc.
Understanding of SQL Server, ASP.NET framework, and architectural patterns (like MVC)
Knowledge of minimum one .NET languages (C#, Visual Basic .NET) and HTML5/CSS3
Understanding of architecture styles/APIs (REST, RPC)
Understanding of Agile methodologies
Troubleshooting and communication skills

Other skills ASP.NET Developers should learn

.NET
MVC
SQL Server
Visual Studio
JavaScript
jQuery
CSS
Entity Framework
Web API
LINQ
Frontend Js Frameworks: Angular/React

Education Qualifications

The foremost and crucial step to becoming an ASP.NET developer is to get the relevant educational qualifications. For this job role, a bachelor’s degree in Computer science is required. But many companies don’t prioritize a degree. A degree in Computer science helps to cover the fundamentals of coding and programming languages. If you don’t belong to a technical background then you can study the fundamental concepts of the .NET development platform and the framework.

Learn the basics

The first step when it comes to learning the basics is to learn the C# programming language. C# is the programming language that is used by all .NET developers. It is one of the preferred languages by all .NET developers. Moreover, it is rated as the simplest to learn and expressive programming language Fundamental C# (.NET) skills you need to understand are variables, data types, loops, conditionals, classes, objects, fields and properties, methods, LINQ, interfaces, polymorphism, inheritance, and encapsulation

The next important basic skill is the Visual Studio IDE. To become proficient with the .NET platform, you should work on acquiring fundamental knowledge on .NET Core, .NET framework, .NET Standard, and Xamarin.Mono. Since .NET is a multilingual platform, it allows you to become proficient in multiple programming languages like C++, Java, Python, and more. Whichever programming language you choose to learn, make sure to master it with proficiency.

Other skills a .NET developer must master include front-end technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc., Cloud computing, Machine Learning, web development, and communication skills. It is advisable to focus on learning various courses and certifications for these skills. Moreover, the curriculum of such specialization courses expands your perspectives.

Selection of IDE

The next important consideration in becoming an ASP.NET developer is to determine which IDE to use. Visual Studio IDE is the program where majority of the .NET developers write C# code. Note that Visual Studio for Windows is free for personal use and till now, it is the best IDE for the .NET developers. Also, you can download Visual Studio for Mac.

For using .NET development on Linux or Mac, it is recommended to use Rider IDE (from Jetbrains). This is because it has several features as Visual Studio. Moreover, it comes with an integrated tool i.e. Reshaper that helps you to write expressive and clean C# code. Though it is a recommended IDE for .NET, it is possible to code with the .NET through Visual Studio Code IDE (because it is a lightweight version of the Visual Studio).

Learn SQL

Another prominent aspect to focus on when becoming an ASP.NET developer is to learn SQL (Structured Query Language). It is widely used for querying databases to retrieve the data. The most frequently used database by .NET developers is the Microsoft SQL Server that is available for personal and free use.

If you want to learn SQL server on Windows OS, you would benefit from easy-to-navigate user interface for running SQL queries. On the other hand, if you are using Mac or Linux, it may be bit challenging to install SQL server because you have to use the Docker containers.

You may need to install a Windows virtual machine and then use SQL Server. Note that Microsoft SQL Server is the most frequently used database in the .NET environments, but you can also utilize other database systems, like MySQL or PostgreSQL.

Selection of Specialty

.NET platform facilitates application development for mobile, desktop, web, and gaming platforms that are assimilated with machine learning and Cloud computing features. So, you need to explore your interest. Subsequently, you need to focus on mastering the preferred platform.

You cannot become a .NET developer without selecting the development direction. If you are quite beginner to web development then you can start learning web development by working with ASP.NET Core, MVC.API, and Blazor. For Cloud development, you can work with Microsoft Azure. For mobile development, you need to work with Xamarin. When it comes to desktop development, you would be working with WinForms/WPF/UWP/ Xamarin.Forms. For Microservices, you need to work with Docker and .NET Core. When it comes to gaming, you would be working with MonoGame or Unity or CRYENGINE. For Machine Learning, you would be working with Apache Spark or ML.NET or Cognitive Services or Azure Machine Learning.

Learn Web Development

Most people willing to become an ASP.NET developer incline towards learning web development. For creating web-based applications in .NET platform, it is necessary to learn ASP.NET Core. This is because it is cross-platform and a future technology for the web. Usually, ASP.NET developers can work on WebAPI and MVC based web applications. In recent times, MVC based web applications are obsolete because every web pages are reloaded whenever you navigate across the website. On the other hand, WebAPI based applications typically work with the SPAs (Single Page Application) like React or Angular. Whenever you browse these types of apps, there will be no reloading of pages. Usually, ASP.NET developers are not responsible for SPAs. They must know WebAPI and MVC.

Learn ASP.NET Core

A reliable course is helpful to learn ASP.NET Core. This can be done with the use of LinkedIn Learning. Since ASP.NET Core is a broad term, watching only a single course of one or two hours will not be useful. It is recommended to take an entire learning path.

Learn Cloud Development

One of the most desired skills in the present and future is Cloud development. Typically, Microsoft developers opt for Azure in form of their key cloud platform. The reason is it is built by .NET developers. You can use Google Cloud or Amazon AWS as per your preference. Plenty of companies has migrated their technologies from on-premise to Azure. It is scalable and the most contemporary approach to running the applications. Security is also one of the essential concerns for every company, and in the cloud, your applications will be much safer than on-premise. A decent .NET developer must learn Microsoft Azure because it would assist them in some of their roles and responsibilities.

Other things you need to learn for .NET

As you dive into the learning path for becoming an ASP.NET developer, you would encounter a lot of things. It is not possible to discuss all of them. Some additional concepts you need to learn for becoming ASP.NET developer are as follows-

NuGet Packages
CI/CD pipeline
Azure Services
Visual Studio

Summary

Mastering the skills discussed above can transform you into a proficient .ASP.NET developer. Presently, ASP.NET and C# are among those technologies that are no longer based only on Windows. They can be executed on Linux servers as well. So, you don’t require costly Windows hosting services to operate your .NET applications. Becoming an ASP.NET developer unlocks various career opportunities and equips you with a lot of technical expertise.