Introduction
Node.js is a powerful and open-source JavaScript-based platform. The primary uses of Node.js are to develop applications, video streaming sites, single-page applications, web applications, and online chat platforms, and learning management systems.
Node.js has gained immense popularity as it is open-source and completely free to use. Therefore, it is widely used by developers across the world.
As Node.js works as a cross-platform JavaScript runtime environment, it is suitable for web applications to run outside the client’s browser. Today, Node.js is prevalent in server-side web applications and data-intensive applications due to its use of an asynchronous event-driven model.
Those looking to begin a career as a Node.js developer or looking to switch domains must be aware of the core concepts of this platform. Alongside the fundamentals, the different parts of the framework and use cases and industry trends must have to be successful as a Node.js developer in the industry. Therefore, it is essential to understand the concepts and gain mastery of the hands-on experience.
Related reading: Top 11 Online Courses to Learn Docker
1. Building Modern Node.js Applications on AWS – Coursera
The course is offered by Amazon’s AWS on the Coursera platform. This is among the top Node.js courses taught by Amazon’s industry experts, providing industry insights. The prerequisites of the course include basic knowledge of AWS and an understanding of AWA Global infrastructure. Also, the understanding of AWS terminologies would help understand the concepts taught in the course.
The course covers the concepts of how to build a modern, greenfield serverless backend on AWS. At the end of the course, the learners will gain mastery on building brand new applications using AWS, Amazon’s EC2 uses as virtual machines, and the use of Docker containers.
Finally, the learners will understand how to build modern and API-driven Node.js applications using Amazon API gateway for serverless API hosting, AWS Lambda for serverless computing, and Amazon Cognito for serverless authentication. The course follows an API-driven development process and covers all the ins and outs of the API gateway. The course modules are:
Week 1
- Introduction to Building Modern Applications
- Meet the Instructors
- Architecture for the Cloud
- Introduction to AWS Cloud
- Introduction to AWS API Management Console CLI SDK
- AWS CLI Intro
- AWS SDK Exploration (Node)
- Using Temporary Credentials in AWS Cloud
- Serverless Application Model
- AWS Toolkit in AWS Cloud
- Introduction to Lab
Week 2
- API Driven Development
- What is API Gateway
- Dragon API: API Gateway Terminology
- Models and Mapping
- Creating a GET API with Mock Integration
- Dragon API: Using Mappings
- DragonAPI: Using Models
- Publish API
- Using Postman to Create Requests
- Lab 2 Introduction
- Introduction to Authentication and API Gateway
- API Gateway Access Controls
- API Gateway Authentication and Authorization
- Introduction to Amazon Cognito
- Use Amazon Cognito to Sign in and Call API Gateway
- Lab 3 Introduction
Week 3
- Introduction to AWS Lambda
- AWS Lambda Execution
- AWS Lambda Permissions
- Triggers, Push, Pull Model
- Lambda Execution Context Reuse
- Compliance with AWS Lambda
- Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Responses
- Aliases and Versions
- Creating an AWS Lambda Function – Node Part
- Creating and Debugging AWS Lambda Functions with AWS Cloud
- Lab 4 Introduction
Week 4
- Creating a Serverless Workflow
- Introduction to Step Functions
- Step Function State Types
- AWS Step Function Service Integrations
- API Gateway and Step Function Integration Demo
- Run a Job and Wait for Callback Patterns
- Step Function Activities
- Standard vs. Express Step Functions
- Event-Driven Architectures
- Lab 5 Introduction
Week 5
- Introduction to Observability
- Introduction to AWS X-Ray
- X-Ray, API Gateway, and Lambda
- Using X-Ray: Node
- CloudWatch Logs Integration with API Gateway, Step Functions, and Lambda
- How to Configure CloudWatch Logs in API Gateway, Step Functions, and Lambda
Week 6
- Introduction to Edge-Optimized Endpoints
- API Gateway Response Caching
- Lambda Edge
- Lambda Performance
- Lambda Layers
- Lambda Best Practices
- API Gateway Proxy for AWS APIs
- API Gateway HTTP APIs
- Lab 6 Introduction
- Course Wrap Up
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Morgan Willis, Seph Robinson, Jonathon Dion, and Rick Hurst
Level: Intermediate
Video Lectures: NA
User Review: 4.4/5
Price: Free enrollment (Additional charges may apply for certification)
2. Node.js Certification Training – Simplilearn
The course is available on Simplilearn. The Node.js program enables learners to build real-world network applications and understand the server-side development using Node.js. The learners will understand how to efficiently and quickly build scalable web applications using JavaScript.
At the end of the course, the learners will gain in-depth knowledge of concepts such as Express.js, Node packet manager, shrink-wrap, NPM Vet, REST and MongoDB, SQLite, and CRUD operations. All the essentials of Node.js, along with hands-on experience on industry-based projects, will be provided. Some of the critical areas that are covered in the course include:
- Node.js Framework
- Node.js Projects
- Shrink-wrap
- Understanding of asynchronous programming
- HTTP Server and Node.js
- Buffer Streams and events
- Multiprocessing in Node.js
- Master Express.js
- Application using Socketio
- Gulp and Grunt
- Unit and End-to-end Testing
- The course modules are:
- Introduction
- Real World Node.js Projects
- Working with Shrink-Wrap to Lock the Node Modules Versions
- Working with Asynchronous Programming
- Building an HTTP Server with Node.js
- File System
- Buffers, Streams, and Events
- Multiprocessing in Node.js
- Express.js with MongoDB and SQLite
- Socket.io, The Front end, and A Chat App
- Task Managers and Unit Testing
- Free Course: Fundamentals of JavaScript
- Projects: Online music store: Manage your Music Library/Create your own Learning Management System
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Industry Experts
Level: Intermediate
Video Lectures: NA
User Review: 4.4/5
Price: $178 Approximately
3. Node.js: The Big Picture – Pluralsight
The course is offered on the Pluralsight platform. Unlike many Node.js online courses, this course focuses on providing knowledge of the origins and history of the evolution of Node.js.
Additionally, the learners will understand how to write asynchronous codes and how they can build APIs and constructs. Also, the learners will know how to modularize the application code and leverage Node’s vast 3rd party ecosystem by using npm.
Finally, the learners will gain insight into the tool belt of Node.js and the critical strategies in a Node.js environment. The course modules are:
Introduction
- Where is Node.js Commonly Found?
- What Makes up Node.js?
- A Brief History
Thinking Asynchronously
- Node’s Event Loop
- Asynchronous Development
- Node APIs and Event Emitters
- Streams
Defining an Application and Managing Dependencies
- Modularizing Your Application
- Npm and Application Dependencies
Assembling a Development Toolset
- Installing Node/Testing Applications
- Debugging
- Conclusion
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Paul O’Fallon
Level: Beginner
Video Lectures: 12Video Lectures
User Review: 4.7/5
Price: Free
4. Node.js Essential Training – LinkedIn Learning
The course is offered on the LinkedIn learning platform. In this course, the essentials of Node.js are covered in-depth. The learners will have exposure to key concepts to create their JavaScript applications.
The course guides the installation of Node.js, followed by Node.js core concepts and the standard inputs and outputs in the client-server application environments. Furthermore, the learners will understand how to work with file systems and write and run JavaScript on the Server. The course modules are:
Introduction
- Learn the Fundamentals of Node.js
- What should you know?
What is Node.js?
- Node.js History
- How Node.js Works?
Set Up the Environment
- Using VS Code
- Install Node.js
Node Global
- The Global Object
- The Require Function
- Argument Variables with Process. argv
- Standard Output
- Standard Input
- Creating a delay with setTimeout
- Incorporate setInterval
- Report progress with setInterval
Node Modules
- Core modules
- Collect information with readline
- Use readline functions
- Export custom modules
- Create a module
- Custom events with the EventEmitter
- Improve a module with EventEmitter
File System Basics
- List Directory Files
- Read Files
- Write and Append files
- Directory Creation
- Rename and Remove Files and Directories
Files and Streams
- Readable File Streams
- Writable File Streams
- Create Child Process with exec
- Create Child Process with spawn
- Conclusion
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Alex Banks
Level: Intermediate
Video Lectures: 33 Video Lectures
User Review: NA
Price: 1-Month Free Trial ($19 After Trial Period)
5. Introduction to Node.js by The Linux Foundation – edX
The course is available on the edX platform. The course is designed for front-end and backend developers looking to be familiar with concepts of Node.js. The learners will explore the use cases, build command line tools, mock RESTful JSON API, and the prototype for real-time services. Also, the learners will discover various ecosystems and their utilities and Node core libraries. The course modules are:
Chapter 1: Setting up
Chapter 2: Service Mocking
Chapter 3: Going Real-Time
Chapter 4: Building CLI Tools
Chapter 5: Navigating the Ecosystem
Chapter 6: What’s Next?
Final Exam: (Verified Certificate track only)
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: David Mark Clements
Level: Introductory
Video Lectures: NA
User Review: NA
Price: Free Enrollment ($150 Approximately for Certification)
6. Web Development with the Power of Node.js – edX
The Technical University of Munich offers the course on the edX platform. The program is of four weeks’ duration and has no prerequisites. In the first week of the course, the learners will explore the basic concepts, whereas, in the second week, the learners will be exposed to advanced concepts such as functions and objects.
The course will also cover the concepts of how to use the Node.js library. The third week covers the essentials of the basic architecture of a web application and various parts that make up an application.
The learners will also understand how data is exchanged over an application programming interface (API) and the different tools and libraries to build an application. The learners will also learn the setup of the Node.js Server and the interaction with various sets of databases.
Model view controller (MVC) pattern software architecture is also covered in-depth. Finally, week four covers building applications with data visualization functionalities and building interactive data-driven applications. The course modules are:
- Week 1- Language Basics
- Week 2- Functions and Objects
- Week 3- Server-Side JavaScript
- Week 4- Data Visualization
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Burkhard Rost, Guy Yachdav, Tatyana Goldberg, and Christian Dallago
Level: Introductory
Video Lectures: NA
User Review: NA
Price: Free Enrollment ($48 Approximately for Certification)
7. The Complete Node.js Developer Course – Udemy
The course is available on the Udemy platform. It is one of the bestsellers on this e-learning platform. The course covers all the fundamentals of Node.js and explores the tools like Express, Mongoose, and MongoDB.
The program is focused on building the all-around skills of a professional Node developer capable of developing, testing, and deploying real-world production applications. All of the contents in this course are updated as per the latest Node.js version. For the hands-on experience, the course provides projects such as:
- Building a note-taking app.
- A weather application that interacts with the MapBox and Dark Sky API.
- A task manager REST API complete with user accounts and authentication.
- A real-time chat app with a client-side companion.
- The course also provides a 30-day money-back guarantee. Some of the critical areas that are covered in this course include:
- Node.js
- Npm
- Asynchronous programming
- ES6/ES7
- MongoDB
- Express
- Socket.IO
- JWT Authentication
- Mongoose
- File and image uploads
- Email sending
- Application deployment with Heroku
- Version control with Git
- GitHub
- REST API Design
- Code testing
- Debugging
- Jest
- Additional tools
At the end of the course, the learners will be able to create Express-based web servers and APIs, use cutting edge JavaScript, ability to create real-time web apps with SocketIO, build, test, and launch Node.js apps, store data with Mongoose and MongoDB and deploy the applications to production. The course modules are:
- Introduction
- Installing and Exploring Node.js
- Node.js Module System
- File System and Command Line Args
- Debugging Node.js
- Asynchronous Node.js
- Web Servers
- Accessing API from Browser
- Application Deployment
- MongoDB
- REST API and Mongoose
- API Authentication and Security
- Sorting, Pagination, and Filtering
- File Uploads
- Sending Emails
- Testing Node.js
- Real-time Web Applications with Socket.io
- Wrapping Up
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Andrew Mead and Rob Percival
Level: Introductory/Intermediate
Video Lectures: 177 Video Lectures
User Review: 4.7/5
Price: $50 Approximately (Price may vary according to the region)
8. NodeJS – The Complete Guide (MVC, REST APIs, GraphQL, Deno) – Udemy
In this course, the learners will begin from scratch towards the most advanced concepts for Node.js. There is no prior knowledge required.
At the end of the course, the learners will gain mastery over all the following areas:
- Node.js Basics & Basic Core Modules
- Parsing Requests & Sending Responses
- Rendering HTML Dynamically (on the Server)
- Using Express.js
- Working with Files and generating PDFs on the Server (on-the-fly)
- File Up- and Download
- Using the Model-View-Controller (MVC) Pattern
- Using Node.js with SQL (MySQL) and Sequelize
- Using Node.js with NoSQL (MongoDB) and Mongoose
- Working with Sessions & Cookies
- User Authentication and Authorization
- Sending Emails
- Validating User Input
- Data Pagination
- Handling Payments with Stripe.js
- Building REST APIs
- Authentication in REST APIs
- File Upload in REST APIs
- Building GraphQL APIs
- Authentication in GraphQL APIs
- File Upload in GraphQL APIs
- Building a Realtime Node.js App with Websockets
- Automated Testing (Unit Tests)
- Deploying a Node.js Application
- Using TypeScript with Node.js
- Exploring Deno.js
Finally, the learners will build modern, fast, and scalable server-side web applications with Node.js and databases like SQL and MongoDB. The learners will also be introduced to the concepts of DenoJS. Also, the learners will have in-depth knowledge of the Node.js ecosystem and be well-equipped with the skills to build server-side rendered apps, REST APIs, and GraphQL APIs.
The course modules are:
- Introduction
- JavaScript Refresher
- Improved Development Workflow and Debugging
- Express.js
- Dynamic Content and Adding Template Engines
- MVC
- Enhancing the App
- Dynamic Routes and Advanced Models
- SQL
- Understanding Sequelize
- NoSQL and MongoDB
- Mongoose
- Sessions and Cookies
- Authentication
- Sending Emails
- Advanced Authentication
- Validation and Error Handling
- File Upload and Download
- Pagination, Async Requests, and Adding Payments
- REST APIs
- Async Await, Websockets, and Socket.io
- GraphQL
- Deploying the App and Testing Node.js Applications
- Npm and Modern JavaScript and Node.js
- TypeScript
- Deno, CRUD, and Databases
- Course Roundup
COURSE DETAILS:
nstructor: Academind by Maximillian Schwarzmuller
Level: Introductory/Intermediate
Video Lectures: 541 Video Lectures
User Review: 4.7/5
Price: $50 Approximately (Price may vary according to the region)
9. Learn and Understand Node.js – Udemy
The course will provide a deep understanding of Node.js and how common pitfalls can be avoided while building applications. The learners will also be able to improve their debugging skills. Additionally, the learners will be exposed to scenarios to understand how C++ written V8 JavaScript works and how Node.js can expand its abilities.
The learners will understand to structure their code for reusability and the uses of modules. The concepts of asynchronous coding, event emitter, streams, buffers, and pipes are critical topics covered in the course.
Finally, the learners will also understand npm, connecting to a database and the MEAN stack. The course provides sufficient exposure to hands-on experience, and there is a provision of downloadable source codes.
The course modules are:
- Introduction and Setup
- V8: The JavaScript Engine
- The Node Core
- Modules, Exports, and Require
- Events and the Event Emitter
- Asynchronous code
- HTTP and Web Server
- Express
- NPM: The Node Package Manager
- JavaScript and JSON and Databases
- The MEAN Stack
- Building an App
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Anthony Alicea
Level: Introductory/Intermediate
Video Lectures: 97 Video Lectures
User Review: 4.6/5
Price: $50 Approximately (Price may vary according to the region)
10. Server-Side Development with Node.js, Express, and MongoDB – Coursera
The course is offered by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on the Coursera platform. Although the course is part of some of the specialization programs, it is also available to be enrolled separately.
The course is focused on server-side concepts. All the content is based on the Node.js platform and covers essential concepts such as web protocols, Node.js, and Node.js modules.
The learners will be able to build web servers. On the database side, concepts like CRUD operations, NoSQL databases, Mongoose and MongoDB are covered in depth. Finally, the concepts of RESTful API and authentication and security are also explored in the course.
Also, the course provides insights into the backend as a service (BaaS) approaches, including mobile BaaS for mobile application development environments are also introduced in this course.Â
At the end of this course, the learners will have a thorough understanding of the following concepts:
- Understanding of service-side concepts.
- Configuration of a backend server using Node.js framework.
- Building a RESTful API for the front-end to access backend services.
- Open-source and commercial BaaS services.
The course modules are:
Introduction to Server-Side Development
- Welcome to Server-Side Development with NodeJS, Express, and MongoDB
- How to Use the Learning Resources?
- What is Full-Stack Web Development?
- Node.js and NPM
- Node Modules
- Node Modules: Callbacks and Error Handling
- Networking Essentials
- Node and the HTTP Module
- Introduction to Express
- Brief Representational State Transfer (REST)
- Express Router
- Assignment 1 Requirements (Video): Node Modules, Express, and REST API
Data: Where art Thou Data?
- Express Generator
- Introduction to MongoDB
- Node and MongoDB
- Callback Hell and Promises
- Mongoose ODM
- REST API with Express, MongoDB, and Mongoose
- Assignment 2 Requirements (Video): MongoDB: Requirements
Halt! – Who goes there?
- Basic Authentication
- Express Sessions
- Passport
- Token-Based Authentication
- Mongoose Population
- Assignment 3 Requirements (Video): User Authentication
Backend as a service
- HTTPS and Secure Communication
- Uploading Files
- Cross-Origin Resource Sharing
- OAuth and User Authentication
- Assignment 4 Requirements (Video): Backend as a Service
- Confusion: Integrating the Angular Client and Server
- Confusion: Integrating the React Client and Server
- Backend as a Service
COURSE DETAILS:
Instructor: Jogesh K. Muppala
Level: Intermediate
Video Lectures: NA
User Review: 4.7/5
Price: Free Enrollment (Additional charges for certification)
Conclusion
Node.js is considered the de facto tool for building server-side and network applications in the developer’s world. The critical aspects of Node.js being fast, Node package manager, asynchronous programming, reduced processing time, single-threaded model, and scalability that makes Node.js the most prominent JavaScript platform today. The justification of its popularity is more apparent with its uses by top companies such as:
Netflix uses Node.js for their servers for achieving scalability and being a data-intensive application,
Walmart trusts Node.js for asynchronous I/O and efficiency for managing concurrent requests.
Uber for asynchronous I/O, quick iterations, and the benefits of an open-source framework.
NASA for reduced access time, handling data-intensive requirements and server activity 24/7.
PayPal for faster build times with fewer codes and the ability to tackle a large amount of data.
As it is evident that Node.js has a wide variety of benefits and is often the most preferred choice of top companies and their applications. Hence, the Node.js developers fetch a competitive salary that features among the highest rated jobs in the world.
The recent salary trends and report by Payscale state that the average salary for a Node.js developer is $104 964 in the United States. Simultaneously, the highest salary range can go up to $113,000, whereas the additional bonuses make it a total pay in the range of $72,000- $116,000. However, the salary range varies to numerous factors such as education, certification, additional skills, and years of experience. Therefore, the aspirants and professionals looking to shift towards Node.js development careers must opt for certifications that can level up their skills.
It is crucial to select courses that provide industry-recognized certificates and a well-balanced curriculum with sufficient theoretical knowledge and hands-on experience. Thus, keeping in mind all the requisites, the article highlighted some of the top courses for Node.js that can allow learners to be well-equipped to pursue a successful career as Node.js developers.