Make the Switch into Mobile App Development

Has Covid-19 caused you to second guess your current career path? Have you been furloughed, or just flat out laid off due to the pandemic?

Well, the truth is no one saw the Covid-19 pandemic coming, but what is more important is that you make the most of the situation in terms of your career. Covid-19 could turn out to be your golden opportunity to make that career switch into that awesome remote-based job you’ve always wanted. This handbook can serve as a great place to start.

The tech industry is still full steam ahead, even amid the ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic and global economic shutdown. The sector is booming, and it might just be calling your name, even if you don’t realize it. 

In 2020, it’s a safe bet that you own and use a smartphone on a daily basis. You might even be reading this article on such a device right now. Well, have you ever thought about the professional programmers who build mobile apps like web browsers, news hubs, and that addicting puzzle game you can’t seem to stop playing. There are literally millions of mobile apps these days and all of us have our favorites. But how are these applications made? And just who is building them? The answer is mobile app developers

If you are thinking that a career in the booming tech industry, and more specifically in the mobile app development sector, then you might find yourself wondering as to how and where you can learn the necessary coding skills needed in mobile app development. You may assume that such a career requires one to earn a computer science, information technology, or maybe even a software engineering degree from a four-year university, or a two-year program at a local community or technical college. But in actuality, these more traditional tech education routes are quickly tossed aside as many new tech professionals are opting instead to learn their new programming skills through coding bootcamps.

A coding bootcamp is a short term, intensive program that will teach you everything you need to know to succeed in mobile app development, and they will teach it to you in less than a year. Moreover, they are incredibly flexible programs, with most schools, such as Galvanize, offering class scheduling options ranging from full time in-person, online, and even self-paced. This ensures that no matter who you are, and what your daily life looks like, there is a bootcamp for you. 

Even better is the fact that many bootcamps also offer flexible tuition payment financing options such as deferred tuition payments and income-sharing agreements, which will allow to apply, enroll, and complete your bootcamps with the signed agreement that you will pay back the affordable tuition at a later date, after you have landed your first mobile app development job.

Alright. Now, you know where and how to learn your new coding skills. Let’s take a look at what you can expect from a mobile app development job once you get there.

Mobile App Development

As was mentioned earlier, mobile app developers are the skilled programmers who are responsible for building all of the mobile apps that we enjoy on our smart devices. Programming professionals make sure that our favorite apps for news, business, productivity, and of course media apps like Spotify, Pandora, and Apple music, are up-to-date and functioning properly so that we can continue to enjoy them. There are two main types of mobile app developers: iOS and Android.

iOS

iOS developers are responsible for building the mobile apps that Apple product users enjoy. They design, build, and maintain the apps that are used one every Apple mobile device, including the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

iOS developers use a mobile app development environment called Xcode. Within Xcode, iOS developers use a primary programming language called Swift.

As an iOS developer, you can expect to earn an average salary of $113,000, with more senior developers earning over $170,000.

Android

Android is the most popular mobile operating system the world, powering almost every smart device that is not made by Apple. As the responsible programming professionals for every android powered device, including Google products like Chromebooks, they are always in demand.

Android mobile app developers enjoy a comfortable average salary of $126,000 to over $162,000.