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Skill Gap Analysis Template – SDE-II Backend (Node.js/TypeScript)

How to use: Clone this file and fill it honestly before you start. Revisit it every 4 weeks to track progress.

Rating Scale​

  • 0 – No exposure: I have almost never used this.
  • 1 – Basic: I can follow code / tutorials, but struggle to build alone.
  • 2 – Intermediate: I can build typical features with some guidance and docs.
  • 3 – Strong: I can design, implement, and debug in production-like scenarios.
  • 4 – Expert: I can mentor others, optimize, and make architectural decisions.

You can also add evidence (projects, repos, PRs, incidents you handled).

Summary Table​

Fill this after completing all sections.

AreaSelf Rating (0–4)Evidence / NotesTarget Level
JavaScript / TypeScript3–4
Node.js Fundamentals3–4
Async Patterns & Event Loop3–4
MongoDB Basics2–3
MySQL Basics2–3
Redis / Caching2–3
DSA (Backend-Relevant)3
Infra / AWS Knowledge2–3
Machine Coding Ability3–4
System Design Intuition3–4
Design Patterns & SOLID3–4
CI/CD & Testing2–3
Monitoring & Debugging3–4

1. JavaScript / TypeScript​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Core JS: scopes, closures, prototypes, this, hoisting, strict mode.
    • Async: callbacks, promises, async/await, error handling.
    • TS Basics: types, interfaces, enums, generics, type aliases.
    • TS Advanced: utility types, conditional types, mapped types, discriminated unions.
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence (project / PR / repo link)
Closures, scopes, prototypes
Async/await, promises
TS type system basics
TS advanced types

Gaps & Plan (1–3 bullet points)

  • Gap:
  • Plan (resource + timeframe):

2. Node.js Fundamentals​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Node process model, event loop, libuv basics.
    • Modules, environment variables, configuration management.
    • Building REST APIs with Express/Fastify.
    • Error handling, logging, structured configuration.
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence
Event loop & libuv basics
HTTP server & routing
Middleware & error handling
Config & environment management

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

3. Async Patterns & Event Loop​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Event loop phases, macrotasks vs microtasks.
    • Streams (readable, writable, transform).
    • Backpressure handling.
    • Async patterns: callbacks, promises, async/await, generators (if used).
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence
Event loop phases
Microtasks vs macrotasks
Streams & backpressure
Async error handling

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

4. MongoDB & MySQL Basics​

Self Rating – MongoDB (0–4): __
Self Rating – MySQL (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • MongoDB: collections, documents, schema design, indexes, aggregation.
    • MySQL: tables, joins, normalization, indexes, basic transactions.
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence
Mongo – CRUD & queries
Mongo – Indexes & aggregation
MySQL – Joins & normalization
MySQL – Indexes & queries

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

5. DSA Skill Range (Backend-Focused)​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Arrays, strings, hash maps, sets.
    • Linked lists, stacks, queues.
    • Trees, graphs (practical traversal / shortest path).
    • Heaps, priority queues, sliding window, two pointers.
TopicRating (0–4)Evidence (platform + problem count)
Arrays & strings
Hash maps & sets
Trees & graphs
Heaps & PQ
Sliding window

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

6. Infra / AWS Knowledge​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • AWS basics: EC2, S3, RDS, SQS, CloudWatch.
    • Deployment basics: Docker, CI/CD.
    • Networking basics: load balancers, security groups, VPC basics.
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence
EC2/S3/RDS basics
SQS / queues
CI/CD pipelines
Docker & container basics

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

7. Machine Coding Ability​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Converting requirements → APIs/classes/data models.
    • Writing clean, modular, testable code under time pressure.
    • Applying SOLID and correct patterns.
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence (problem names / repos)
Requirements clarification
API/class design
Code structure & patterns
Tests & edge cases

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

8. System Design Intuition​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Breaking down product requirements into components & services.
    • Choosing databases, caches, queues, and understanding trade-offs.
    • Handling scale, reliability, and observability.
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence
Requirement breakdown
Choosing storage & caches
Handling scale & performance
Observability & failure handling

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

9. Design Patterns Familiarity​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Understanding and applying SOLID principles.
    • Using appropriate patterns: Factory, Strategy, Observer, Adapter, Decorator, Repository, Singleton (carefully).
Pattern / PrincipleRating (0–4)Evidence (where you used it)
SOLID overall
Factory / Abstract Factory
Strategy
Observer / Pub-Sub
Repository

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan:

10. CI/CD, Testing, Monitoring​

Self Rating (0–4): __

  • Key Sub-Skills
    • Writing unit + integration tests (Jest, supertest, etc.).
    • Basic CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, etc.).
    • Logs, metrics, traces, dashboards.
Sub-SkillRating (0–4)Evidence
Unit testing
Integration/API testing
CI/CD pipeline config
Logging & monitoring

Gaps & Plan

  • Gap:
  • Plan: