Android developer: description, advantages and disadvantages

Every year IT professions attract more and more specialists. This is an interesting, demanded and highly paid job, covering many areas. The profession of an Android developer is very popular. Having the necessary knowledge, a specialist can work both for a large company and for himself, developing and implementing his own projects.

Today, the Android operating system is widespread. It is installed on smartphones, tablets, players and other mobile equipment. Given this fact, the need for professional Android developers is constantly growing. It is not easy to find experienced specialists in this field in the CIS countries, therefore, skilled craftsmen are in demand and can always count on good earnings.

There are many ways to get the necessary knowledge and skills for work. The number of mobile applications on the above OS is growing every year. It is the developers who write and improve them. However, these are not the only tasks of the programmer.

Features of the profession are as follows:

• software testing (if necessary, debugging is carried out and the system should be checked again);
• writing and editing program code;
• creation of mobile programs of various subjects and functionality for the Android OS;
• downloading software to sites and other remote repositories;
• improvement of working methods to increase productivity;
• using an innovative approach to work;
• analysis of technical specifications, as well as other information from the project customer;
• analytical work related to the improvement of software;
• making the necessary changes during and after work, at the request of the customer.

The number of duties performed depends on how large the project is and what are the requirements of the customer. Occupying a position in small corporations, specialists can carry out not only their direct tasks, but also work as a designer, as well as draw up technical specifications for the project.

Currently, a large number of programmers work independently.

The advantages of this profession are as follows:

• decent wages;
• the ability to work remotely from anywhere in the world;
• reasonable price of training;
• work in a relevant and interesting field;
• when working in an office, the company provides employees with comfortable working conditions: equipment necessary for work, a social package (for official employment), a convenient workplace;
• career growth with due diligence and development;
• the possibility of self-development through the study of new techniques and innovative approaches;
• growing need for professionals.

Cons are as follows:

• despite the fact that the profession requires a creative approach, it will not work for people with humanitarian thinking, technical knowledge and the same mentality are necessary here;
• high demands from modern customers;
• when working on a specific project or as an employee of a company, it will not work out;
• in most cases, you should constantly update and edit an already created program.

The level of salary depends on many factors: work experience, project success and other nuances. A beginner who has just begun his career path can receive about 50 thousand rubles. Developers who work in this area for about 2 years earn between 50 and 100 thousand rubles a month. In the capital, the salary of employees is higher and varies from 90-100 to 150-160 thousand rubles. Professionals involved in software development for more than 2-3 years have the opportunity to receive several hundred thousand rubles a month.

The indicated data are average and may differ. Currently, large corporations offer employees a salary of about 400-450 thousand rubles.. It is difficult to disagree that this is a decent income, which is several times higher than the salaries of specialists in other industries.

Some Russian specialists work remotely with foreign companies and receive wages in dollars or euros. It is worth noting that such corporations have high demands on employees, but they offer appropriate salaries and other privileges.

In the process, the specialist is faced with various situations that may adversely affect his performance. We are talking about criticism, constant corrections by the customer and other factors. To successfully cope with job duties, you must have certain personal qualities.

Key personal characteristics of a professional developer:

• calm in crisis and unforeseen situations;
• love for your work;
• the desire to develop as a person and as a specialist;
• accuracy, practicality and prudence;
• fast learner;
• adequate perception of criticism;
• sociability;
• organization and attentiveness;
• non-conflict.

All these and other positive qualities will help to become a true professional.

In order to achieve career success, in addition to personal characteristics, you should have certain working skills:

• basic skills of programming languages, in particular Java and Kotlin;
• knowledge of the structure of the Android operating system;
• practice in writing mobile applications of various kinds for the above platform;
• practical skills in using Git and GitHub;
• knowledge of protocol structure (HTTP, REST and others);
• basics of object-oriented programming.

Everyone who wants to join the ranks of Android developers is wondering where to get the necessary knowledge and practical skills.

There are several ways.

• Education in higher education. Given the growing popularity of the profession, a corresponding specialization appears in some universities. Even if one is not available, you can enter a related faculty to gain basic knowledge in the field of programming.

• In private computer academies, everyone is trained in this profession. The cost of training in such institutions is high, but graduates receive professional knowledge and the necessary practical skills as they study. You can also attend special courses and lectures.

• You can get basic knowledge on the Internet. In the vastness of the World Wide Web you can find many courses, seminars and thematic lectures. Training is conducted in a remote format under the guidance of a supervisor or independently, in a convenient mode.

Many specialists who have been working in the field of software development for a long time recommend starting their acquaintance with the profession by studying the Android platform.

Acquaintance is as follows.

• Primarily you should study the graphic component of programs. Pay attention to text, images, and other elements. At the beginning of a career, many beginners use special blanks and only after they begin to create programs from scratch.

• Specialist not do without mastering the platform file system. It is worthwhile to carefully study all its components. This is an important component for optimizing software. Also, the system is needed to exchange data with other programs.

• The next item is software life cycle. You should configure the program in such a way that it is convenient to interact with it in various situations (for example, when a call or message from another application arrives on the phone).

• Many programs can perform the same functions. Concerning you should use ready-made codes so as not to write them. This is knowledge in technological solutions of the OS.

• If the application is programmed to work in multiple windows, you must be able to configure navigation between them. This is another important component of programs for the Android platform.

• In order for the program to interact correctly with mobile devices, should learn to work with sensors and other modern sensors.

• Performance matters. Knowledge in this area will help create a program that does not require a lot of resources. Otherwise, the equipment will freeze and “glitch” in the process.

The above OS structures are basic. In practice, there are many more. Professionals who have been developers for many years know every component perfectly.