Do Backend Developers Need to Know Messaging Queues Like Kafka and RabbitMQ?

Yes! I'd recommend starting with RabbitMQ since it's easier to grasp and you can run it on almost any machine. Messaging queues are crucial, especially in cloud environments where they are widely used. Once you get the hang of them, it can really boost your development skills.

Working with queues can greatly enhance scalability in your applications. For example, I use Rails with queue messaging that interacts with a Go microservice that processes messages. It allows for a more efficient system.

It's definitely a common pattern in modern development. At the very least, getting familiar with these concepts will help you in your career.

Definitely, learning messaging queues is pretty useful for backend devs today. They come up in many job descriptions, but don’t stress too much—if you have a few years of experience already, you can pick up the necessary knowledge quickly. There are loads of free resources online, especially for Kafka through Confluent, that can help you prepare for interviews in just a few days.

While I’m not deeply familiar with Kafka or RabbitMQ, I’ve used AWS SQS, and it's pretty straightforward! Most likely, you'll encounter some queue service at your next job, so it’s worth getting familiar with.

I've been using Redis jobs instead, and it sometimes feels unnecessary for smaller companies, but hey, it pays for good pizza! Still, knowing about messaging systems can be a valuable asset in your toolkit.