Android developer: description, advantages and disadvantages

Professions in the field of IT attract more and more specialists every year. This is an interesting, demanded and highly paid job that covers many areas. The profession of 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 demand for professional Android developers is constantly growing. It is not easy to find experienced specialists in this area on the territory of the CIS countries, therefore, qualified craftsmen are in demand and can always count on good earnings.

There are many ways to get the necessary knowledge and skills for the job. The number of mobile applications for 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.

The features of the profession consist in the following work:

• 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;
• uploading software to sites and other remote storages;
• improving working methods to increase productivity;
• using an innovative approach to work;
• analysis of technical specifications, as well as other information from the customer of the project;
• analytical work related to software improvement;
• making the necessary edits during work and after, at the request of the customer.

The number of duties performed depends on how large the project is and what the customer's requirements are. Taking a position in small corporations, specialists can perform not only their direct tasks, but also work as a designer, as well as draw up technical specifications for a 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;
• affordable tuition fees;
• 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 (with official employment), a comfortable 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.

The 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 mindset are needed here;
• high demands from modern customers;
• when working on a specific project or as an employee of a company, self-realization will not work;
• in most cases, you should constantly update and edit an already created program.

The salary level depends on many factors: work experience, project success and other nuances. A beginner who has just started his career can receive about 50 thousand rubles. Developers who have been working in this area for about 2 years earn from 50 to 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 who have been developing software for more than 2-3 years have the opportunity to receive several hundred thousand rubles a month.

Data shown is average and may vary. Currently, large corporations offer employees a salary of about 400-450 thousand rubles.... It is hard to disagree that this is a decent salary, which is several times higher than the salaries of specialists in other industries.

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

In the process of work, a specialist is faced with various situations that can negatively 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.

The main personal characteristics of a professional developer:

• calmness in crisis and unforeseen situations;
• love for your work;
• desire to develop both 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 you become a real professional.

To achieve success in a career, in addition to personal characteristics, you should have certain work skills:

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

Anyone 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 educational institutions. Given the growing popularity of the profession, a corresponding specialization appears in some universities. Even if you do not have one, you can enroll in an adjacent faculty to gain basic knowledge in the field of programming.

• In private computer academies, everyone who wants this profession is trained. 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 carried out remotely under the guidance of a supervisor or independently, in a convenient mode.

Many experts 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.

The acquaintance goes as follows.

• First of all you should study the graphic component of the programs... Pay attention to text, images, and other elements. At the beginning of their careers, many beginners use special templates and only after that they start creating programs from scratch.

• For a specialist you can't do without mastering the platform file system... It is worth carefully examining all of its components. This is an important component for optimizing software performance. Also, the system is needed to exchange data with other programs.

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

• Many programs can perform the same functions. Due to this it is worth using ready-made codes so as not to write them... This is knowledge in OS technological solutions.

• If the application is programmed to work in several windows, you need to be able to set up navigation between them... This is another important component of programs for the Android platform.

• For the program to interact correctly with mobile devices, you should learn to work with sensors and other modern sensors.

• Performance matters... Knowledge in this area will help you 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 of them. Professionals who have been working as developers for many years know each component perfectly.