Junior Software Engineer roadmap

What you will learn

1. 1. Programming Basics

   Variables, types, control flow and functions: the building blocks of every program.

   • Variables & Types — Programming Fundamentals · Variables & Types
   • Control Flow — Programming Fundamentals · Control Flow
   • Functions — Programming Fundamentals · Functions

2. 2. Problem Solving & Complexity

   Break problems into steps and reason about how code scales with Big O.

   • Problem Solving — Programming Fundamentals · Problem Solving
   • Complexity & Big O — Programming Fundamentals · Complexity & Big O

3. 3. Git Essentials

   Repositories and commits, branches, merges and resolving conflicts.

   • Repositories & Commits — Git · Repositories & Commits
   • Branches, Merges & Conflicts — Git · Branches, Merges & Conflicts

4. 4. Arrays, Strings & Hashing

   The everyday data structures: arrays, strings, hash tables and sets.

   • Arrays — Data Structures · Arrays
   • Strings — Data Structures · Strings
   • Hash Tables & Sets — Data Structures · Hash Tables & Sets

5. 5. Searching & Sorting

   Sorting algorithms and binary search, and the trade-offs between them.

   • Sorting — Algorithms · Sorting
   • Searching & Binary Search — Algorithms · Searching & Binary Search

6. 6. C# Fundamentals

   C# syntax, types, structs and records, and object-oriented programming with classes and interfaces.

   • Syntax, Types, Structs & Records — C# · Syntax, Types, Structs & Records
   • Classes, Interfaces & Polymorphism — C# · Classes, Interfaces & Polymorphism

7. 7. SQL Foundations

   Query relational data with SELECT, filtering, sorting and joins.

   • SQL Basics — Databases · SQL Basics
   • Joins — Databases · Joins

8. 8. DNS & HTTP

   How names resolve to addresses and how HTTP and HTTPS carry the web.

   • DNS — Computer Networking · DNS
   • HTTP & HTTPS — Computer Networking · HTTP & HTTPS

9. 9. HTTP & APIs

   Build REST APIs over HTTP and design them well: resources, status codes, pagination and versioning.

   • HTTP & REST — Backend Engineering · HTTP & REST
   • API Design, Pagination & Versioning — Backend Engineering · API Design, Pagination & Versioning

10. 10. Testing Essentials

    Unit tests with Arrange-Act-Assert, then integration and end-to-end tests.

    • Unit Testing & AAA — Testing & Quality · Unit Testing & AAA
    • Integration & E2E Testing — Testing & Quality · Integration & E2E Testing

11. 11. Security Foundations

    The two most exploited web weaknesses: injection and broken access control.

    • SQL, Command Injection & Path Traversal — Security · SQL, Command Injection & Path Traversal
    • Authorization, RBAC & ABAC — Security · Authorization, RBAC & ABAC

12. 12. Docker Essentials

    What containers are and how images, layers and the build cache work.

    • Containers — Docker · Containers
    • Images, Layers & Build Cache — Docker · Images, Layers & Build Cache

13. 13. CI/CD

    Turn code into versioned build artifacts and ship them through continuous integration and delivery pipelines.

    • Builds & Artifacts — DevOps · Builds & Artifacts
    • CI & CD — DevOps · CI & CD

14. 14. Git CollaborationOptional

    Fetch, pull and push with remotes, and team workflows built on pull requests.

    • Fetch, Pull & Push — Git · Fetch, Pull & Push
    • Workflows, Pull Requests & Code Review — Git · Workflows, Pull Requests & Code Review

15. 15. JavaScript CoreOptional

    Types and coercion, scope and closures, functions and this, objects, prototypes and classes.

    • Types & Coercion — JavaScript · Types & Coercion
    • Scope & Closures — JavaScript · Scope & Closures
    • Functions & this — JavaScript · Functions & this
    • Objects, Prototypes & Classes — JavaScript · Objects, Prototypes & Classes

16. 16. Linked Lists, Stacks & QueuesOptional

    Linear structures and when to reach for a linked list, a stack or a queue.

    • Linked Lists — Data Structures · Linked Lists
    • Stacks — Data Structures · Stacks
    • Queues — Data Structures · Queues

17. 17. How Computers WorkOptional

    Boolean logic, binary and hexadecimal, computer architecture and how memory and pointers work.

    • Boolean Logic — Programming Fundamentals · Boolean Logic
    • Binary & Hexadecimal — Programming Fundamentals · Binary & Hexadecimal
    • Computer Architecture — Programming Fundamentals · Computer Architecture
    • Memory & Pointers — Programming Fundamentals · Memory & Pointers

18. 18. Incidents & Reliability

    Handle incidents calmly, learn from them and build reliability practices into the team.

    • Incident Handling — Engineering Leadership · Incident Handling
    • Reliability Practices — Engineering Leadership · Reliability Practices

19. 19. Two Pointers & Sliding Window

    Two classic patterns that turn quadratic scans over arrays and strings into linear ones.

    • Two Pointers — Algorithms · Two Pointers
    • Sliding Window — Algorithms · Sliding Window