As a backend focused engineer, I went with a Linux friendly and compatible laptop with great battery life (thanks to the 1920x1080 display). I've been developing in and using Linux as my default daily driver for close to a decade and have moved distros 3 times: from Fedora to Ubuntu and now PopOS!.
Like most of my colleagues, these days I work from home. My home office has gone through a big change since 2020 (thanks COVID!) - opting to invest in better quality equipment since I would be using it everyday.
Pro Tip: For those short on home office square footage, the audio setup listed below (bookshelf speakers and subwoofer) fits perfectly into Ikea's Kallax line of bookshelves.
Here's my daily toolchain - nothing out of the extraordinary and a pretty typical setup.
Working from home as a software engineer, I opted for Gigabit fiber and a mesh network to provide excellent coverage throughout the house. An Unraid server was added to experiment and tinker with new ideas and VM sandboxes for learning new technologies and products without interferring in my day-to-day work laptop.
Pro Tip: If you have CenturyLink fiber and would like to ditch their router, here's a great article on what is needed. Hint, you need your PPPOE credentials (username and password) and a router that is capable of PPPOE and VLAN tagging on the WAN port.