Do you get swarmed by questions like ‘Why mobile app development? Or ‘is mobile app developer a good career’. Well then, you’ve come to the right blog for your answers.
According to Statista, the number of mobile users surpassed 3 billion and is expected to rise even further. Hence, more and more businesses are shifting focus to digital and mobile platforms to position themselves in front of this untapped potential. In order for that to happen, businesses need to develop mobile applications. There is a growing popularity for mobile app development all over the world. Mobile app developers are increasingly becoming in demand.
A career in mobile application development can be very lucrative, if properly thought out and planned. Before you jump the gun, doing the right homework is vital to put you on the right path towards your end goal. We’ve covered the relevant information you need in order to get you to start with a solid foundation in mobile application development.
Understanding The Role
What is a Mobile App Developer?
A mobile app developer is a skilled IT professional, responsible for developing the applications used on smartphones. Mobile application developers can be skilled in Android and or iOS both. As application developers, their role is not just limit to create the application from scratch. But also to maintain and customize these apps to meet the needs of different types of customers.
Mobile App Development Technologies for 2021
In order to create the right mobile application, a mobile app developer needs to focus on the right technology to create an effective application for the App Store or PlayStore. Not all technologies are equal in complexity and offer varying levels of advantages over the other. Technologies are not limited to programming languages, but may also include frameworks and libraries. All in all, these are the ones worth considering for the year 2021:
- Python
- Java
- Flutter
- React Native
- Swift
- Kotlin
- R Programming
The Working Environment
The general working environment of a mobile application developer is challenging but rewarding in the end. This depends on factors like the type of organization it is and the culture it practices. Day-to-day activities will mainly involve developing, testing, and improving mobile applications. Depending on the expertise, activities like designing app interfaces and interactions are also common. As a mobile application developer, they will be working as part of a team involving analysts, UI/UX designers, project managers, software engineers, and other application developers.
Types of Mobile App Development Platforms
A mobile application developer can be mainly of two types:
IOS Application Developer
These developers build, test, and update applications for iOS powered devices like the iPhone, IPad, etc. They use specific technologies like Xcode and Swift. Xcode is the development environment, and Swift is the primary programming language.
Android Application Developer
These developers build, test, and update applications for android powered devices. Android happens to be the most popular OS platform which happens to be open source as well. They use specific technologies like Kotlin and Java. Kotlin is the new JVM-based programming language gaining popularity and Java being the primary core programming language.
How To Become The Best Mobile App Developer – Steps
Technologies and Platform
In order to become the best, it’s important to first research and understand the different technologies and platforms that exist. Research on market projections for which technologies are gaining traction and are of interest to you. For some, working in proprietary technologies is difficult over open source options. Likewise, decide on the platforms of choice and which ones provide more opportunity to be creative, flexible and come with the required documentation, support, and community that match your directions.
Get Qualified
The market for mobile application developers is getting increasingly competitive and employers are on the lookout for the ones qualified. Having a degree in relevant expertise like Software Engineering greatly improves one’s own understanding and the prospects of landing a great job.
Join a Bootcamp
Boot camps or crash courses for programming languages offer a great opportunity for beginners to learn from industry experts. They provide a quick overview of the programming languages and much needed syntax-related guidance and set-up help.
Training by Tech companies
It’s not uncommon for tech companies to provide training free of cost to people, genuinely willing to learn about new or existing programming languages. Google especially, is very active in this area, with training/short courses provided on tools and programming languages through ‘Google Grow’.
Acquire Certifications
Certifications are the pinnacle of exhibiting excellence, but they are also very hard to acquire. The rigorous learning process and testing procedures make sure to polish skills and grow the technical and mental competence of individuals, to solve real-world problems as per industry standards.
Practice and Practice
The above ways won’t make any difference if mobile app developers do not implement self-learning and practice by himself or themselves. In order to be the best, an individual needs to put in the effort that others would not think of putting in. Gaining the requisite domain experience and competence over a period of time will allow one to transition from a good mobile application developer into a Subject Matter Expert (SME) within their capacity and particular skill set of technologies.
