Ways and Methods to Become a Successful App Developer

Chambers writes that “Prolific developers don’t always write a lot of code; instead they solve a lot of problems. The two things are not the same.” And this is one of the most appropriate statements that sum up application or software development.

Becoming a mobile app developer is not only about learning to code or get a hand of all the coding languages. You need to be much more than a generic programmer and act as a human first. This is because a developer is a problem solver first and a developer second. Believe it when we say that this is the biggest challenge to become a developer.

Plus, people who learn to understand the problem and work on building a solution choose the right path to become the best mobile app developers. Also, there is a difference between becoming a developer and a successful app developer.

In this article, we will help you understand what you should do, how you should do it, and when you must do it to jump from a developer to the most successful app developer.

It Starts from Your Formal Education…

Contrary to popular opinion, school education has a sustainable impact on your journey to become an application developer. You need to enroll in a software engineering degree or a computer science course. Having the basic knowledge will help you build a strong intellect that will become a base for your future learnings.

Because if you already understand the rudimentary concepts, it is easier to innovate and work on the more complex skills, that is important for all sorts of mobile app developers. School education will teach you the basic things, including;

• System Design
• Data Structuring
• Programming

Moreover, school education will also get you familiar with the core programming languages like C++, HTML, Java, etc. Followed by a bachelor’s degree, go for a Master’s course to further cement your understanding towards becoming successful mobile app developers.

Another reason why you need to prefer formal education to become one of the best android app developers is learning UI/UX skills. Yes, application development is not only about coding. But UI/UX has an equally vital role to play, and not familiarizing yourself with these aspects will lead to a gap in your understanding of the product.

Can I Become a Self-taught App Developer?

Of course, nothing is stopping you from becoming a mobile app developer, even if you have completed your bachelor’s or master’s degree in another field. That’s not all, even without a formal education, you can become a successful mobile app developer.

The difference in the extent of work you need to put in and access to the right mentors on every stage if you want to become a self-taught developer. With formal education, coaches and professors are readily available to guide you and understand the concepts.

But self-taught developers have to navigate through these aspects on their own or rely on one of their mentors (if they have one) to understand the nuances. So, the journey of a self-taught developer might be more difficult than someone who takes formal education, but they both can become the most successful app developers.

Decide Why You Want to Become a Mobile App Developer

This is important. Why? The journey to become a successful mobile app developer is not easy, nor is it short. Once you decide to become an application developer, you are in for the long haul. That is why knowing why you want to become a developer is essential.

The beauty of mobile app development is that whatever the reason may be, the field justifies your motive.

• If you are in it for the money, rest assured that the sky’s the limit when it comes to earning as a developer.
• Developers who love to code are rare, but these are the ones who are the true pioneers of this field and innovate. And in coding, the scope of innovation is unlimited.
• Another group of developers enter the field to help solve problems by making effective solutions.

Depending on your goal, you will be able to set the future course of action. Because if money is the primary goal, you need to work on your skills and start working for some bigger names in the industry and maybe, land a job with the likes of Google.

The innovative and problem-solving developers have a different mindset. They think in terms of the future relevance of what they are doing right now. There are very few visionaries in the world. These are the people who are changing the definition of normal with their thinking, approach, and development.

If you aim to become that sort of a developer, you need to start thinking in terms of the future and build your skills accordingly.

The last step before moving on to choosing the platform and languages or frameworks of coding is about the app development industry.

Understand the Industry | Application Development

Any sort of industry trend, be it application, consumer goods, foods, etc., is determined by its demand. It is out of the scope of this article to trace every step of this industry. The application industry is expected to reach $407 billion by 2026. Mobile app developers need to understand how the industry has got its shape and what is the future of mobile app development to become a successful professional.

So, just as the customer’s demands change, the application development strategies and methods also need to change with them. In between these two extremes, there is a third segment where innovation becomes the motive for a consumer to change their requirements and demands.

On your part, even when you have become or are learning to become one of the best android app developers or even iPhone developers for that matter, it is imperative to stay updated with the industry. At present, you should know about the Essential Eight Technologies that are revolutionizing every aspect of business.

Some of these are Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Virtual Reality, and so on. The best part about all these is that application development is integral to all these technologies. Not to mention we are looking at the convergence of all the major technologies that are defining the new trends today.

To name a few convergent technologies;

• Automating Trust: This is the convergence of Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, and the Internet of Things. 
• Immersive Interfaces: Combining technologies like AI, Augmented Reality, IoT, Robotics, and Virtual Reality.
• Extended Reality: Realized by integrating AI, AR, IoT, and VR.

These are several more incredible concepts that are either under development or are currently being used. Rest assured that there will be many new ones added to this list five years down the line.

Elon Musk’s Neuralink is being hailed as the next best thing in the field of innovation and advancement. Always keep a note on these things. Keep an eye on the authority domains that share news and insights on the latest technological developments.

Must Read: A Comparative Guide: Xamarin vs Flutter vs React Native

Choose a Platform to Start your Application Development Journey

Now you have to answer the major and a career-deciding question, which platform you should choose for application development. There are several platforms to choose from, including iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry RIM, etc. But, before venturing into the industry, you should know that more than 99% of mobile devices are powered with Android or iOS.

So, choosing one of these two platforms is a better option, and we will be discussing a few key points that will help you make a choice. Although, there is a middle ground approach, and that is going for cross-platform development. But such development systems run on frameworks, which are operating on a core programming language. So, that can wait for now.

• Look at the Numbers: Looking at the figures, you will see that Android has 83.8% of the market share in 2021, and iOS has 16.2%. So, going by the numbers, it would be simple to go for Android and work to become one of the best Android developers.
• The Market Is also Important: On the ground, the scales are skewed towards either of the platforms depending on the country where you will work from. So, it would be better to look at the market you will be working for and from before choosing.
• What’s the Future Scope: It is beneficial to judge the effectiveness and usefulness of technology with respect to the future. Until now, both Android and iOS have similar possibilities of becoming the future of mobile development. Yes, there will be inherent changes in the way both platforms are developed and used.

Hence, it is up to you to stay updated with “What’s New” in the industry and work to become a successful developer for mobile apps. To give you an idea about the future of mobile app development, here are a few technologies to look at;

• Internet of Things
• Containerization
• Edge Computing
• Hybrid Cloud
• Multi-Cloud
• Artificial Intelligence
• Wearable Technology
• Augmented Reality

Before choosing a platform, it would be helpful if you can look at the syntax and coding complexities of integrating the application with these features. Another aspect that you might want to consider includes;

• Revenue: It is clear that with Android’s colossal market share, it will surely have more revenue than iOS. But, it must also be noted that iOS users have a higher Lifetime Value (LTV). This means that iOS users tend to spend more on their applications than Android users.

Lastly, depending on the platform you want to choose, the choice of programming language you should master will also change. Because working to become the best Android app developers means you need to work with Java or Kotlin majorly. But in order to join the race to become one of the best iPhone app developers, you need to learn Objective-C and Swift.

Learn to Code and Practice It

After choosing the platform, you need to start working on your coding skills to become the most successful app developer. As you may have read before, for Android, the choice is between Kotlin or Java, and for iOS, the choice is between Swift or Objective-C.

• Objective-C and Swift

  Age-wise, Objective-C is older than Swift. For that reason, Objective-C has a bigger community of developers. It has a wide availability of documentation to help the developers and a large variety of tools.

  Since Objective-C is older, there are a lot of applications or live use cases you can study while learning. Performance-wise, Objective-C is not as advanced or fast as Swift, but there is no match for the stability provided by Objective-C.

  Due to these and many more similar aspects, we can deduce that Objective-C is a better choice if you want to build applications for a client or work in a company that hire mobile app developers.

  On the other hand, Swift is a better choice if you want to make your own application. Plus, Swift is still growing as a language, so there is a lot of room for innovation, and it also shows better performance metrics.

• Java and Kotlin for Android Mobile App Developers

  The choice between Kotlin and Java seems to skew towards Java from the get-go mostly because of the wide scope of Java and its abilities. Plus, Java works with almost every device or platform. Java’s code is complicated, but it is also robust.

  With Java, you can create modular segments of the complete application, which helps with better management. Not to mention that you will get a substantial amount of ready-to-use third-party code that can be integrated into the application.

  Kotlin is younger than Java, and for that reason alone, it is lightweight, compiles quickly, and prevents the application from increasing. One of the best things about Kotling and which Android app developers also love, is that you can compile the code into bytecode and execute the same in JVM.

  This means that all the libraries and tools of Java can also be used in Kotlin, so there is some level of interoperability between these two languages.

After choosing platform and language, the next thing mobile app developers need to do as follows.

Practice your Code: In the development world, there is always scope of innovation and improvement. As we have seen above that new developments are coming into the industry regularly, the coding for the same also undergoes a change or improvement. So, keep on practicing your coding skills.

Work on the Following To Become the Most Successful App Developer

Successful mobile app developers never stop learning and growing. They make a constant effort to learn new things and stay updated with the new technologies. Apart from this, here are a few other things that you can do to become a better mobile application developer.

• Set Goals: Always work by setting new goals. For instance, make a goal about where you want to be five years from today or what you are going to learn in the next three years.
• Talk to Developers: You will find a lot of the best Android app developers, or even iPhone developers, for that matter. Go on and talk to them, build connections, learn from the experts and gain an understanding of how they reached where they are right now.
• Collaborate With Other Developers: This is one of the best ways to learn, grow, and build your network. If the task requires, work voluntarily. For the first few years, you need to focus on learning and not the money.
• Note Where Developers Fail and Succeed: This is like learning from other’s mistakes, and that is why collaborating with other developers is important. You learn things from them about what they learned, how they performed, and what mistakes gave them a setback.

To Sum it Up

Learning to become the most successful app developer is easier said than done. As a skill that needs constant upgrading and development, you need to work harder and consistently. Yes, formal education will give you a platform to build the foundational skills, but real-world development is more evolved.

The Understanding Come one of the best mobile app developers, follow the process from the beginning and get formal education followed by choosing a platform, the language, and understand the industry to stay updated with the latest technologies and utilities.