How to become a mobile app developer? complete guide for developers

September 26, 2020 General, Mobile App Development Leave a comment

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Last updated:9th January, 2021

How to become a mobile app developer?

Over the past decade, mobile app development has ramped up with a good reason. From messaging to cab booking apps, food delivery to online shopping services, apps have brought convenience to our everyday life and generated massive revenue for companies in return. This article discusses how to become a mobile app developer.

In the global app market, mobile app development is actively growing, and technologies are changing at a fast pace. Statista claimed that in 2020, mobile applications would generate around $188.9 billion, and in upcoming years, it will go ahead at full steam.

The IT sector is waiting for this evolution anxiously. Time flies. Trends come and go. New technologies change with time. Some of them become the norm, and some become obsolete. But the need for a mobile app will always be there and only get better with time.

So, if you ask me ‘is mobile app development a good career,’ I will say, YES. Why? Well, you worry about job growth or job security, it’s one of the best careers in the world you can with competitive salaries, and immense growth possibilities as the human future will heavily depend on mobile technologies.

Future of Mobile App Development

The mobile app development drives by trends and technologies. Businesses these days, gain a lot from the patterns of mobile apps because of the ability of technology to boost mobile apps.

2020 is already passing, and like every year, this year also has some trends rising in the mobile app market. Now, let’s discuss why mobile app development is essential for developers in the future, in which fields, and where mobile app development future is heading.

Internet of Things (IoT) & Cloud Computing:

Mobile apps enabled with IoT and cloud computing will become a key trend in the near future. They have the capability to connect multiple devices in real-time and handle excessive data. The apps have to be more advanced in the future.

They need IoT platforms to communicate, and the cloud ability to connect several things with APIs will be required in the future mobile app development.

Artificial Intelligence:

Most apps in the future will be developed by using technologies such as machine learning algorithms and predictive analysis. The mobile app developers will be able to provide a more personalized experience in app development.

An app will perform different functions such as user behavior analyses, alerting them about the breach of information and suspicious threats. The app will be able to translate conversations in real-time with the help of AI.

AR and VR:

The mobile app developers are well aware of augmented reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). These technologies are going to be very advanced in the future of gaming and entertainment development mobile app.

Many VR-based applications were developed, such as Sky Siege, Pokémon Go, iOnRoad, and much more, got fame in the global entertainment and gaming industry. Thus, these technologies in mobile app development are continuously enhancing the features and performance at a swift speed.

Wearables:

The wearables have now become a must-have accessory. Manufactures have recorded impressive growth in the sales of such gadgets with more focus on personal health management.

Wearables allow to track the progress as they can send the updates about the vitals like blood pressure, calories burned, heart rate, and others. Apart from having a healthy necessity, the wearables are also a style statement.

These devices need an app for functioning. In the future, there will be a high boost in many healthcare applications than before.

Mobile App Development Success Stories

The dream of any mobile app entrepreneur is getting a massively successful app. The gauge of this success differs from person to person. Some measure success by the number of downloads, some by the revenue generated, and for some, it’s daily or dedicated users.

In the niche market, an app is widely successful with 20, 000 users. Whereas, in the massive- app market, a million users are required to reach the definition of success. Thus, the idea of success is diverse. To motivate you, we will take a look at some mobile app success stories in this section.

1. Instagram

Instagram is one of the most demanded mobile apps in the past still years and still is. It achieved explosive fame and meteoric success after its launch. Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom founded Instagram that allowed users to share personal photos to express themselves.

In seven days of its launch, Instagram got 100K users. Instagram users admired its stunning sharing capability and slick features. Due to the efforts of Instagram founders, it became a huge success and was bought by Facebook two years later for 1$ billion.

2. WhatsApp

The speed, ease, and quick resort features of WhatsApp make it an accessible and most used messaging app over the entire demographics range. Jan Koum and Brian Acton founded it. WhatsApp also allowed people to know whether the other person has received and read their message or not.

When Facebook took over WhatsApp, it made $19 billion. It was like a chat messenger brand for mobile users. WhatsApp iPhone app achieved undoubtedly raging success in a very short timeframe. No doubt, for mobile app developers, WhatsApp is the resentful inspiration.

3. Slack

At present, almost all who are well-aware of the app world are familiar with the Slack, whether they have used it or not. Since its launch in 2014, Slack has achieved $5 million, active users, daily, and a valuation of $5 billion. Workplaces are using it in multitudes. It has changed the workflow and communication for numerous companies.

Slack is usually taken as a group messaging app by those who don’t really use it. But companies create different channels to connect with workers and organize conversations for various projects and topics. Now professors and teachers also use it for different batches to give and take updates from students. Time, The Verger, and New York Times featured it as one of the most widely used popular message app by Inc.

4. Uber

So far, Uber is the most electrifying app. Uber is a pioneer in travel booking apps. Uber was created in 2008 by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick. The idea came in their mind when they needed assistance in finding a cab to explore Paris. Today, all over the world, Uber is the most used and offers unrivaled cab service. Now you do not need to wait for taxis and argue for fares; just tap a button, get the cab, and travel.

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With time, it is updated with advanced features. Now it offers extensive services such as UberEats, UberBOAT, and UberCHOPPER.

Now that you know how important mobile app development is for the future, let’s learn what qualifications do you need to be an app developer?

How To Become A Mobile App Developer?

‘Mobile application developer’ is an evergreen job for software developers, and in the future, it is expected to become greener. The mobile application industry is extensive and is expected to grow in the future exponentially.

Thus, the mobile app market will be very profitable with such growth. The role of mobile application development requires the person to design, build, or maintain mobile applications for platforms such as Android or Apple’ iOS.

By learning mobile app development, you can make a mobile app for your own initiative. You can also pursue the career of mobile app development.

Get A Computer Science Degree:

You have a degree in a subject other than computer science does not mean that you have to take admission in college again to get a computer science degree. You can, but it takes a lot of time and money.

Having a computer science degree is not a strict requirement, but it is preferable. That is because many companies prefer to hire developers with bachelor’s in computer science, software engineering, or mobile computing. If possible, get your hands on in mobile application coding during school or college time.

Choose Any Major Platform:

Some major platforms include Apple, Android, Windows, RIM (Blackberry), and Symbian. Learn to code for these platforms but choose one as your primary. Apple and Android would be an excellent place to start with. They are dominant in the mobile industry.

They both are completely different, so you need to decide which one to specialize in. You can master both but better not to do it. It is recommended to cover only one and then expand your knowledge and expertise by learning other app development platforms.

Try Online Development Platforms:

There are various online platforms to learn coding and forums to discuss your issues regarding mobile application development. For instance, Android offers Android Developers Training to watch tutorials that help you start with coding.

Apple has a similar platform, iOS Dev Center. However, don’t just rely on the official learning streams. There are various other free and paid sites where you can learn coding for mobile development such as

W3School
Coursera
edX

You can easily enroll in any mobile app development course and start polishing your skills.

Develop an App:

If you want to get a job of a mobile application developer in a company, then develop an app yourself. It can be a simple app, but you need something to prove your work and stay ahead of other candidates.

What Languages Should Mobile App Developer Learn?

Whether you are a fresher in mobile application development or want to expand or change the major, you will wonder which language to learn to get expertise. Each language has its own demands and merits.

Various factors come when deciding to choose. Below are some top programming languages with a brief introduction to mobile application development in terms of popularity and demand.

Swift:

It is considered as the future programing language. It is the latest programing language that can make your way into the Apple app development. That is because it is famous for writing codes with the latest APIs of Apple, Cocoa, and Cocoa Touch.

Kotlin:

This language is similar to Java in terms of language structure and is a first-class object-oriented language. But Kotlin has multiple advanced features and is clean as compared to Java. It supports all the IDEs, including the SDK toolkit and Android Studio. Kotlin is not limited to any platform, as its native code runs on various platforms.

Flutter:

It is an open-source mobile application development SDK. Dart language is used to write SDK. Visuals in Flutter are very much similar to Cupertino and Material design. It is super easy to test your project on Flutter. In case of any mistake, there is no need to restart the project.

React Native:

This platform comes from Facebook and is a wildly popular framework. It emerged in 2013 and is still a must-have learning language for mobile app developers. It is an open-source platform and offers great support to a lot of mobile app development tools. It is an optimal framework to create native apps for iOS and Android.

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How Much Time Does It Take To Become a mobile app developer?

Usually, it takes about 6 years to get traditional degrees and experience. However, an accelerated software development study program can be completed in around 2.5 years. Moreover, there are many mobile app development courses you can do to become one even if you don’t have a traditional degree in computer sciences or software engineering.

It has been seen that the average mobile app developer salary is around $107, 000 a year in the US, according to a 200 8 report.

Final Words

It is difficult to predict the future of mobile application development as it is flourishing in the exact way the other traditional technologies had in the past. However, from past references, we can easily predict the future of mobile app development and what is yet to come.

But, for sure, the future is bright for mobile app developers and very different from modern-day technologies. It will pave the path for developers to do well in the future.