Mobile DevelopmentHow to: start as a junior mobile developer

According to the 42 Matters website, 25,000 apps were published in the App Store in August 2022. On Indoor more than 30,000 vacancies have been posted for requests related to mobile development. The salary fork of a mobile developer in Poland starts from 8k polish zloty and tends to be more than 20k. These three facts are the most weighty arguments in favor of immersion in mobile development from scratch.

Those who have read our articles understand that development for mobile devices and other programming languages have a lot in common. In this article, we will talk about the features of mobile development. How to facilitate the path to a junior mobile developer at the start, where do start learning, and is it possible to become a mobile developer in less than a year?

Mobile development for a beginner – where to start

A mobile developer is a specialist who is responsible for creating applications for Android, and iOS and using so-called cross-platform development.

It is believed that mobile development has a low entry threshold. At the start, you need to know only one programming language and the main functions of the development environment. The responsibilities of a mobile developer include:

- the study of the brief and terms of reference;

- the development of the application structure;

- testing;

- publication in the store;

- optimization of the application.

In addition, knowledge of English is a good tone for a beginner. Because a large number of reference books and documentation are written on it. Many conferences for mobile developers are also conducted in English.

Features of IOS development

IOS occupies only 15% of the market. However, the solvency of Apple users is higher than in Google Play. Therefore, from a commercial point of view, it is more profitable to develop IOS. But we must remember that iOS users are "more capricious" than Android adherents.

To become an iOS developer, you need to learn Swift or Objective-C programming language. In the course, you can learn the basics of Swift.

Apple requires developers to pay attention to the visual part of the application. Aesthetic integrity, user control, and consistency are the basics of creating iOS applications.

Mobile development for Android

The difference in the size of the device, hardware functionality, and OS versions are difficulties that Android developers have to face every day. But there are advantages here too. For example, checking the application through the Google Play service takes only 3-4 hours. While the App Store spends several days on this.

To enter the world of Android-based mobile development, you need to learn Java or Kotlin programming language. This is a programming language that appeared in 2017. It is built on the same principles as Java, but it took into account all the shortcomings of the source and corrected them.

Mobile development: mistakes of beginners

Not studying the platform

The possibilities of Android Studio, Appery, Xcode, and other platforms are almost limitless. It is unrealistic to study all the functionality in one month, or even in a year. So that the work at the early stages does not cause a lot of inconveniences, you need to study the basic functions of your development environment.

Not practicing

Listening to podcasts, watching video tutorials, taking courses, and reading books are useless without practice. Even if you write unreadable code, muscle memory will still appear. After that, you will start writing code much faster. Also, in practice, topics that you might not understand in theory are being worked out. By completing tasks, you develop a base for future work.

Learning unevenly

Balance is the foundation of success. If you study theory and practice for 10 hours a day, seven days a week, for a month. But then drop out of school for a month, then you won't remember anything. There is no benefit from such training because you do not have time to rest. There is too much information coming into the brain. As a result, you don't remember anything.

It is better to choose 3-4 days a week, distribute on which days you study theory, and on which you practice. And study according to the schedule. To make a schedule correctly, it is necessary to develop time management skills. 

Not studying the code of open projects

Reading someone else's code will save precious hours. Mobile development solves many similar problems. They usually require the same code to be executed. A more experienced developer is likely to have already written this code for you. Study its code and optimize your solution.

Mobile development involves working alone or in a team. One programmer works most often on a small application. A team of two or more people gathers for larger projects. In large companies, a new employee can work both on updating and optimizing an old application, and on a project that is just being created.

As a rule, there is no question of employment in the first few months of training. But even at this time, jobs can be found on freelance exchanges, job search sites, and in telegram channels. Programmers can work from home and come to the office only on particularly important occasions – this is a big plus for the employer. At the stage of hiring, you need to prepare for the technical task. It usually takes from two hours to a couple of days to complete it. Another candidate is waiting for an interview with HR and a conversation with the team leader of the department.

Why should I start with online training courses?

Online courses help beginners avoid mistakes. Books will not give you working projects, and in offline courses, you will almost necessarily undergo an internship. You will solve real problems that you can write about in your resume. You will communicate with students, curators, and teachers, that is, you will be able to quickly find answers to the right questions and will be able to grow faster. If we are talking about a really strong platform, then you will surely end up with a graduation project, which will be useful for a portfolio. Yes, it's not fast – most of the courses last about a year. But after completing the entire program, you can become a full-fledged junior or middle developer.

Mobile development – what to choose?

Having decided to become a mobile developer, think about which specialization to choose. Android, for example, is more common in the market. At the same time, having studied Java, you can change your specialization to a web developer or a programmer of banking systems.

And iOS apps are more demanding in design. After Objective-C, it is not difficult to switch to C or C++, so you can move into the field of computer security, video game development, or desktop development.

Do not expect that any of the paths will be shorter. It's easy enough to cover the basics of theory, but to become a pro, you need hours of practice. Real practice on real projects. That is why most educational products for mobile developers are designed for a year. This is enough time to immerse yourself in the topic and realize where and how you can develop further. The rest depends on the desire and belief in your own success.