Backend developer roadmaps

Backend developer roadmaps on Sefism: every stage, what it covers, how long it takes and what you can build once it is done.

56 paths
3295 topics

Free to learn. Credits keep it fair.

Reading is free. Adding a roadmap, keeping a cheat sheet or asking Tauseef a question uses credits, which only make sure the platform goes to people who are actually learning.

15creditswhen you join
1stroadmapfree to add
Morecreditson request, as you learn

Foundations

Start here if you are new or your basics are patchy.

Roadmap · Foundations
MongoDB roadmap
Documents, modelling, indexes, aggregation
The path
1. 1Documents and your setup
2. 2Reading and writing documents
3. Arrays and nested documents
+ 5 more
- 8 stages
- 66 topics
- ~5 months
Opens with credits

Build products

Ship real apps for the web and phones.

Roadmap · Build products
Backend development roadmap
APIs, databases, auth, deploys
The path
1. 1Your language and how HTTP works
2. 2Relational databases and SQL
3. Designing and building APIs
+ 4 more
- 7 stages
- 70 topics
- ~20 months
Opens with credits
Roadmap · Build products
Full stack development roadmap
Build and ship whole web apps
The path
1. 1Web foundations: HTML, CSS and JavaScript
2. 2Git, npm and React
3. The server side of Next.js
+ 4 more
- 7 stages
- 57 topics
- ~21 months
Opens with credits
Roadmap · Build products
.NET developer roadmap
C#, ASP.NET Core, EF Core, production-ready APIs
The path
1. 1C# and the .NET platform
2. 2C# for real work: LINQ, collections, generics and async
3. ASP.NET Core basics
+ 7 more
- 10 stages
- 59 topics
- ~18 months
Opens with credits
Roadmap · Build products
Choosing the right database roadmap
SQL, document, cache, search, vector and more
The path
1. 1Start from the data, not the product
2. 2Relational databases: the sensible default
3. Document databases: MongoDB and Firestore
+ 6 more
- 9 stages
- 56 topics
- ~4 months
Opens with credits

Specialise

Go deep in one area of engineering.

Roadmap · Specialise
System design roadmap
Systems that scale
The path
1. 1Core concepts and building blocks
2. 2Data storage, partitioning and replication
3. Networking, APIs and messaging
+ 4 more
- 7 stages
- 66 topics
- ~13 months
Opens with credits
Roadmap · Specialise
AI agents and MCP roadmap
Tool calling, MCP servers, evals
The path
1. 1How agents work
2. 2Tool calling from scratch
3. Structured output and validation
+ 7 more
- 10 stages
- 71 topics
- ~5 months
Opens with credits

Browse the roadmaps by stage of your career

Each of these is its own page: the foundations, the ones that build products, the ones that specialise, the career paths and the ways to earn independently.

Work with me

Stuck on something specific?

Writing only gets you so far. If you want an answer to your situation rather than the general case, book a session and we will work through it together. Sessions are free for approved Sefism members, and a few slots open each week.