What Skills Should A Ruby on Rails Developer Have?

Netsmartz LLC
3 min readAug 22, 2022

A beloved open-source software used by developers to build web applications, Ruby on Rails (RoR) is the preferred choice of many when it comes to creating robust online stores, stock marketing platforms, and social networking sites.

Rails, which is a server-side web app development framework written in Ruby programming language, can also be defined as a packaged library called RubyGem.

It has been consistently ranked as one of the most used and sought-after programming languages among the likes of Python, Java, and PHP.

A lot of enterprises resort to RoR for their app development needs and go on to great lengths in order to hire the best of the best RoR developers.

If you too are hunting for elite Ruby on Rails developers, here are the skillsets you should watch out for:

Ruby-based Skills

  • Syntax: Awareness of syntax is a must for any Ruby on Rails developer. The developer must be well-versed in writing basic elements of the language such as loops, classes, conditional statements, modules, etc.
  • OOP: A Ruby on Rails developer is destined to work with object-oriented programming. Therefore, having a knack for it along with adequate knowledge is a must. Developers should be aware of concepts such as classes, objects, inheritance vs composition, blocks vs procs vs lambdas, etc.

Ruby on Rails-based Skills

  • MVC: Prerequisite knowledge of the MVC structure is a must. It is a structure of the RoR framework that stands for Model Views Controller architecture. An in-depth understanding of MVC aids the developer in structuring robust apps whilst creating business logic throughout the development process.
  • Active Record: It is a Ruby Library that leverages the seamless usage of SQL databases. Knowing the ins and outs of handling Active Record is imperative for an RoR developer to excel in his work.
  • Database Skills: Data collecting, handling, and leveraging it in the right way is one of the most crucial cornerstones of web app development. All data is stored in databases and an RoR developer must be aware of how to create these databases and handle them in order to drive business outcomes.
  • SQL: For RoR developers, being armored with the skill to handle SQL is vital. Understanding the handling of logs or downfall while working whilst Active Record writes codes for them is the first task of every developer.
  • MySQL: MySQL/PostgreSQL are two of the most common database engines. It will be helpful for developers in the long run to know the key differences between the two and how to set them up on their local machines.

Front End Development Skills

  • HTML: Hypertext Markup Language or HTML is a key front-end development markup language used to create the client-side of any web. RoR developers must possess adequate knowledge of it to excel in their field of work.
  • CSS: Another key contributor to an RoR developer’s resume is CSS. CSS aids in designing your website’s look and feel with its wide range of style icon components.
  • JavaScript: A server-side programming language most loved by developers, JavaScript is an essential language as it is used in both frontend and backend development. JavaScript has a huge developer following so stumbling across an RoR developer who isn’t adept in it is rare.

Tools

  • Git: Git is a must-have tool for heavy code management and for a developer to know what it is, how to create new branches, pull, and push your code with it is imperative.
  • Docker, CI, and Heroku: These are basic deployment tools that every RoR developer will get their hands on once they begin with the web application formation.
  • Asana, Trello & Pivotal: Having your tasks streamlined and doubts answered whenever raised through tickets is an important part of seamless app development. Thus for a developer to know how to use these task management tools is vital as it will lessen their burden.

Wrapping Up

Apart from these skill sets, knowing the key facets of product testing and validation is crucial. Your developer must also possess the right soft skills to measure up with your existing team’s collaboration and participation levels. One easy way to hunt for seasoned Ruby on Rails developers would be to hire an outsourcing company that has a diverse pool of offshore Ruby on Rails developers as it will reduce the burden of sifting through talented candidates for you.

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Netsmartz LLC

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