After this lesson, you will be able to: Translate REST API skills into resume bullets + interview answers for backend, full-stack, and platform engineer roles.
REST APIs are THE backend skill in 2026. Every backend interview tests them. Strong skills here = immediately credible for backend + full-stack roles at any company.
Backend Engineer (any stack): $100-$220k, REST API design is the day-to-day skill. Full-Stack Engineer: $100-$200k, REST APIs connect your frontend to your backend. Platform / Developer Experience Engineer: $130-$240k, designs internal/external APIs. API Architect (senior+): $180-$300k+, designs APIs that span teams. Integration Engineer / Solutions Engineer: $100-$180k, uses APIs to connect customer systems. Search 'backend engineer', 'API engineer', 'REST'.
Skills: REST API design (versioning, pagination, error envelopes), OpenAPI 3.1, JWT / OAuth 2.0, Zod / validation, Postman / Newman / Supertest / k6, rate limiting, Node.js / Express / Hono / Fastify (or your framework), Postgres + Mongo experience. Projects: pl-rest-passion deployed + with docs UI. Bonus: contribution to a popular API client SDK, blog post on API design, side experience with GraphQL.
'Design a URL shortener API.' (System design, top 5 interview topic.) 'What's the difference between PUT and PATCH?' 'When use 401 vs 403 vs 404?' 'How would you version your API for a breaking change?' 'How does JWT work?' (Header.Payload.Signature; verify with secret; check exp.) 'What's CORS and why do browsers enforce it?' 'Walk through how you'd rate limit a public API.' 'REST vs GraphQL?' (Senior-signal question.)
Five commitments.
1. Ship pl-rest-passion with deployed URL + Scalar docs link in README.
2. Write a 2-min loom video walking through your API + docs UI, add to your portfolio.
3. Contribute to a popular API client SDK or OpenAPI tool (Scalar, Hono, openapi-generator). Even small.
4. Solve 20 LeetCode / Pramp system-design-mock problems with API focus (URL shortener, notification service, rate limiter, pastebin).
5. (Optional) Write a blog post: 'How I designed the [your domain] API' walking through 3 hard decisions.
Listing 'REST APIs' as a skill with only CRUD examples (no auth / docs / tests). Not knowing the status-code semantics cold (401 vs 403 = instant interview red flag). Skipping docs (interviewer asks 'where's the OpenAPI?'). Confusing REST + RPC + GraphQL terminology.
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