Mobile App Developer: Career Opportunity and Scope

 

By Nitin Gupta

It’s no secret that mobile applications are an integral part of our lives now. From online shopping to ordering food and playing games, there is an app for almost everything. Moreover, smartphone and tablet usage is on a rise. According to Forrester, mobile devices are expected to have over 5.5 billion users by 2022. Currently, India has a smartphone use base of more than 373 million. As a result, companies increasingly want the best of apps that help improve their reach as well as customer relations.

All this has made mobile application development one of the fastest growing IT career paths today. A mobile application developer is responsible for designing and building impactful mobile apps that help businesses create better engagement with customers. Typically, app developers are creative-minded people who must understand the client’s software requirements and turn them into innovative mobile apps that work well from a consumer’s point of view. They develop software using programming languages and create applications on multiple platforms such as Android, iOS, Windows etc.

The more mobile development platforms you work with, the more opportunities you have as a mobile app developer. The booming startup scene too has created a huge demand for mobile app developers. Most of them are hiring developers at very competitive salaries nowadays. So if you think you have it in you to become an app developer, find out more about this profession below:

What does a mobile app developer do?

These days smartphones and tablets have become small computers which we carry everywhere with us. The growth in smartphone and tablet usage has also led to increased use of apps. Essentially, mobile app developers specialize in designing small electronic equipment, as well as writing computer programs for mobile devices. Rather than building for a larger PC screen, app developers work with extremely small Android, iPhone, or BlackBerry screens.

They are well-versed in multimedia applications and develop software using programming languages such as Objective-C, Swift, C++, Python, Java or Kotlin. Also, application software is usually written for a specific operating system (OS) or mobile platform, such as Android, iOS or Windows. You can choose a mobile app developer profile based on the platform you want to develop for. Typically, there are two types of developers:

Android developers - Android is the mobile operating system owned by Google. Android typically comes installed on various smartphones and tablets from manufacturers including Samsung, Sony, and Motorola, (as well as on Google's own Pixel smartphone), which gives users access to Google services such as Search, YouTube, Maps, Gmail, etc.

An android developer develops applications for everything from interactive games to media players, to electronic book readers and global navigation software. The code required for android development is mostly open source and freely available.

iOS Developers - iOS is another way of saying ‘iPhone OS’, or ‘iPhone Operating System’. It is the mobile operating system created by Apple and runs on mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads. iOS developers know Swift or Objective-C or sometimes even both.

Key responsibilities of the job

One must have good practical knowledge of programming languages and keep his/her technical skills up to date in a fast-paced environment for beinga mobile app developer. Other than that a developer’s key responsibilities include:

• Recognising the specific needs of customers and creating new applications that answer those needs.
• Inventing new ways of handling problems and developing innovative applications.
• Applying problem-solving skills and making decisions that move the project forward.
• Exhibiting teamwork to work seamlessly as part of a large team of developers.
• Having an eye for detail and paying close attention to every single part of the application for it to function smoothly.
• Biggest challenges at work

Cost and time to market is most important in this profession. Bringing the right product with excellent user experience to the market at the earliest is the biggest challenge. Another challenge is that one has to work on several versions of the same basic application that can be read by different types of devices, such as mobile phones, tablets and personal computers.

Typical day in the life of an app developer

A typical day at work requires app developers to create new applications that meet consumer's needs in terms of use and cost. This is based on market research. Once an app is complete and goes into production, the app developer works on creating patches (or upgrades), that are periodically released to the App Store/Play Store/marketplace/end users.

A large part of the role also requires constantly communicating ideas to coders, teammates and the management. This includes discussions about developing new applications and finding creative solutions for technical issues. Developers also directly deal with customers and need to have excellent customer service skills in order to answer questions and fix issues.

Educational qualification required to be in this profession

Most employers look for professionals with at least a bachelor’s degree in computer science or software engineering. Or even a graduate in a related field of study is preferred. You could also go for mobile app development courses provided by several online training providers.

The best part about being in this field

Mobile app development is an exciting career choice. The demand for apps is accelerating and technology is ever-advancing. Not only do app developers work for small, medium and large-sized companies, but on freelance basis as well. They help building experiences that can change the way we communicate and interact with brands. Moreover, there are abundant job opportunities available in the market. You can also do some interesting work with niche technologies like IoT (Internet of Things) built using Bluetooth ow Energy (BLE), Beacons, Near Field Communication (NFC) etc. which can help you advance your career.

About the Author:

Nitin Gupta is a Mobile (iOS) & IoT application / games developer with over 6+ years of experience, spanning inbound games/ applications development, requirement gathering, architecture designing, game AI & algorithms, debugging, social media integration, analytics integration and more.

He specializes in “Mobile Applications”. He has worked in both small and large organizations in multiple industries and technologies.