How to build a career in Android development from scratch: a simple guide

Why Android Development Is So Popular

Those who prophesied the conquest of the Earth by aliens were not greatly mistaken: green men really, in a sense, captured the planet. Only they did not come from outer space, but from the USA to 2008From Android 1.0 to Android 10, here's how Google's OS has evolved over a decade / Digital Trends. For 14 years, the operating system under the logo of a cute humanoid robot has become the most popular in the world: 42,76%Operating System Market Share Worldwide Apr 2022 / GlobalStats / Statcounter users prefer Android, and the closest competitor of this operating system has less than 30% of fans. In the United States alone, green droid smartphones have more 130 millionNumber of Android smartphone users in the United States from 2014 to 2022 / Statista human. But there are also tablets, smart TVs and watches, various set-top boxes, projectors, laptops and car gadgets. And all of these devices require apps, which is why Android developers are often targeted by recruiters.

Skillbox will help to master the demanded specialty. Well "Profession Android developer” recorded in collaboration with Arcadia experts. This company has been producing applications and custom software since 1993, and most of the firm's clients are from Scandinavia, the UK and the US. Among the speakers will be representatives of other brands: for example, developers from Badoo, Tinkoff and CYAN. The experience of experts will inspire students and show what Android development looks like in reality. By the way, in order to reach the level of speakers, knowledge of a foreign language will be useful - one of the course modules is dedicated to professional English for IT specialists. In addition, program participants will have access to a one-year language course, which will help hone their conversational skills.

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Is it worth starting with Android for those who do not know how to program

In fact, it's not the operating system that matters, but the language you start with. FROM 2019Android's Kotlin-first approach / developer.android.com the priority language for Android is Kotlin: they work with it 60%Develop Android apps with Kotlin / developer.android.com pro. Usually, new languages ​​in IT take a long time to take root, but this pattern has not affected Kotlin. Its list of advantages includes flexibility, conciseness, security, and compatibility with Java. And Kotlin is also suitable for those who are just preparing to write their first code - that's why they study it in the course "Profession Android developer».

Even if programming knowledge is limited to memories of bits and bytes from school computer science lessons, the course will help you quickly gain the necessary base. At the same time, you don’t need to drop everything and lock yourself in an apartment alone with a laptop - 5-7 hours a week will be enough for classes. AT Skillbox students have a large support group: curators at any time will help with the implementation of especially difficult tasks and give feedback on all tasks. And in a chat with classmates, you can always share your pains and share the difficulties of learning with like-minded people.

By the way, you don’t have to borrow from friends or parents to start the program either. The first months you do not need to pay for training, and then you can arrange an installment plan and cover the cost of the course with small, comfortable amounts.

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What needs to be learned

In the first 4-5 months, you will get acquainted with variables, functions, coroutines, collections and streams, and also understand how it all turns into real applications. Already in the second module, students Skillbox start developing their running app, social network, or stock web service. This work will be the first case in the future portfolio.

In the third module of the program, after 9-11 months from the beginning of the course, participants will move on to advanced development techniques. The following skills will migrate from the training process to the resume:

• UI customization,
• testing,
• creation of View and animation,
• performance optimization,
• basic knowledge of RxJava,
• support for the release of applications,
• working with design patterns.

The fourth module of the course is devoted to Git, a source code version control system. In computer games, there are autosave points - in them the player returns after critical failures. Without such saving locations, the whole plot would have to be started anew. It's the same with code.

For example, you developed an application for fitness: it did not slow down, coped with the flow of users and steadily collected stars in the store. But over time, the inhabitants of the gyms began to leave comments with a request to add a constructor of their own workouts. As a sensitive developer, you respond to user requests, add code, but in the end, instead of an improved version of the application and thanks, you get a stream of complaints about bugs. The fact is that any intervention in the code can break what used to function well. To go back to a previous version, Git is what you need.

Having taken care of the safety of their ideas and having learned all the subtleties of working with the version control system, in the fifth module, students move on to learning SQL. It is a query language that is used to access databases.

SQL is the main tool for data analysts and engineers, testers cannot do without it, and this language is also useful in programming.

The fact is that all companies that recognize digitalization are now working with Big Data. And mastery of SQL is the universal key to sales and efficiency. For example, you can “pull out” information from databases in order to create psychological and consumer portraits of your customers, predict their behavior and correctly set up marketing. In development, this will help to understand which applications, games and programs users like and are worth the investment and time.

And this is not all the tools that will appear in the arsenal of novice developers after Skillbox course. Students will also learn manual testing of mobile applications and Figma 2.0 for working with graphics. A wide range of skills makes Skillbox graduates competitive in the IT job market. And teamwork on a common application in the third module will help you acquire the necessary soft skills.

How much do Android developers get paid and is it hard to find a job

Only HeadHunter now has more than 2 000Android Developer Jobs / HeadHunter jobs for Android developers. With the filter "No experience" there are offers up to 90 000Android developer jobs without experience / HeadHunter rubles per month, and on average junior specialists can count on a salary of 60 thousand. Jobs for senior developers are full of proposalsJobs for an Android developer with 3 to 6 years of experience / HeadHunter from 300 to 600 thousand rubles.

Demand is high, but worthy competitors will always be found. Specialists of the career center will help you stand out among other candidates Skillbox. They will explain how to write a resume and cover letter, tell you about the current requirements for the profession, and send resumes of diligent students to partner companies. By the way, there will be several ready-made applications in the portfolio of graduates. You don’t have to talk much about your skills - you can show them in action.

Those who still doubt that IT is a field accessible to everyone will probably like it bonus module "Career and development for a programmer". Students will form a clear action plan for their growth in the profession, which will help them look more confidently into the future and become additional motivation to study.

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