Mobile App Development, A Promising Career Path in Tech
Written by: Chigozie Paul
“I think the biggest change, and the one we’re already starting to see take shape, is that globally the majority of internet usage will be done via a mobile device. For most people, the mobile web will be their primary — if not their only — way of experiencing the internet.” — Peter Rojas, Co-founder of Engadget and Gizmodo.
Mobile Application Development is one of the most promising career paths in tech because although everybody cannot afford a laptop or carry one around, many people have mobile phones. As the name implies, most people carry their phones around.
In fact, there is a theory that mobile phone addiction is a real thing. According to a study by A Decade of Digital Dependency, the typical smartphone user checks their smartphone every 12 minutes from when they wake up until they go to sleep. Young people below the age of 21 check their phones every 8.6 minutes.
Another statistic by Dscout’s Mobile Touches Report shows that the average smartphone user will tap, swipe, and click their smartphone 2,617 times a day, while the top 10% do this about 5,427 times a day.
These staggering statistics show that, indeed, there is a vast market demand for Mobile Application Development. Mobile Application Development is a career path that entails creating software applications for mobile devices. A typical mobile application works with remote computing resources through a stable network connection, usually through sim cards or other internet connectivity like Wi-Fi, MiFi, etc.
Those that explore mobile application development as a career path are called mobile app developers. A mobile app developer is responsible for creating, testing, and developing applications for mobile devices using programming languages and development skills.
If you are considering this as a career path, it is essential to note that as a mobile app developer, you must carefully consider the needs of your target audience. This is because, to effectively create an application that can be used and enjoyed by your target audience, you must first understand their needs.
Another thing to note is that the primary responsibility of a mobile app developer is to write, maintain, and implement codes for mobile apps and mobile platform programs that satisfy clients’ needs and requirements. These programs usually work with computer programming languages.
This means that even though there are career paths that do not require one to know how to code, Mobile development is not part of them. As a mobile app developer, you have to know how to code; if you don’t already know how to, you have to be willing to learn how to.
As a mobile developer, you must have two soft skills: creative problem-solving and excellent communication skills.
This is because you need both skills to identify the needs of your target audience and how these needs can be met through a product, usually a mobile phone application.
Aside from Mobile development being a high-demand and promising career path because almost everybody has a mobile phone, here are three more reasons why we believe you should consider Mobile application development as a career path.
- Mobile Application Developers earn a good income.
As an in-demand tech skill, the income of Mobile Application developers is usually relatively high. Every organization has its paying scale and considers certain qualities in fixing work rates like education and experience. However, even when these factors are considered, a mobile application developer still goes home at the end of each working cycle with good pay.
- The market is constantly growing.
The market for mobile applications is expanding incredibly quickly. It is enormous and is expected to keep growing indefinitely. According to a 2020 analyst report, the EU has 3 million direct app economy jobs, of which mobile app developers hold 60%.
- Job versatility
An excellent mobile app developer can work anywhere. As the world advances, more and more businesses and sectors are seeing the need to be flexible with their services, and in this flexibility lies the provision for mobile apps. For a long time, banks have moved most of their services to mobile applications. Food vendors, transportation, name it. Because of this, as a mobile developer, you would always have options.
As an intending Mobile app developer, here are some tips that you may find helpful:
- Attend coding boot camps and other trainings.
- Pay for and take as many courses on coding as you can
- Learn programming languages and how to use them
- Apply for internship opportunities at any chance you get.
We hope this post was insightful. If it was, clap, like, and share! Till next time.