Introduction
More and more people use smartphones to call or text their friends and family members, and track their schedules, habits, watch videos, listen to music, browse through social media, or for other tasks. Mobile applications can be defined as any programs designed to run on our phones. Hence, a mobile game developer is responsible for writing code for these applications. Today, this presentation will focus on the career of a mobile app developer, their typical workday, and the pros and cons of choosing this career path.
Body
First, one should discuss what other tasks, apart from writing applications, a mobile app developer has. Since smartphones have become widely used only recently, the profession of Mobile App Development is fairly new as well. According to Jamsheer, the history of this profession began with the creation of the first phones, which had microchips, allowing the developers to program simple applications. Moreover, the most basic capabilities of any phone, such as calling or texting, are also a result of a mobile app developer’s work. Martin Cooper was the first individual to make a phone call from a mobile phone in 1973, and before this, a team of developers had to program Cooper’s Motorola to an algorithm allowing it to make this call.
Next, in the 90s, Psion introduced phones with full-size keyboards, which had word processing software. In 1996 Palm introduced its operating system for smartphones, which allowed the devices to connect to the Internet (Jamsheer). In both cases, mobile app developers were responsible for creating the applications, either the ones allowing people to write on their phones or the ones that allowed accessing the Internet. Over the years, mobile app developers used different programming languages, such as C++ or Java Mini, in their work. In 2010 Nokia introduced its Symbian OS, which was meant to become a revolution for the mobile phone market and app development. As one can see, historically, mobile app development was connected to the evolution of smartphones, and the developers used different programming languages and operating systems in their work.
Typical day-to-day responsibilities of a mobile app developer include tasks beyond writing programs. According to the US Bureau of Labor and Statistics, software developers typically work for companies that work in the information technology industry (“Software developers”). Notably, it is possible to be a freelance mobile app developer as well, although typically, these specialists work in large firms in partnership with other developers, project managers, and other specialists. Each day mobile app developers have to check for bugs and possible malfunctions of their code (Valentine). Next, they have to check their emails and communicate with coworkers and clients to be up to date with their projects. This can be done in the form of online or face-to-face meetings or through messengers as well. Finally, the most important part of their work is writing applications based on specifications and requirements set by the customers.
Conclusion
The pros of becoming a mobile app developer are that they typically work on interesting projects and the increasing number of smartphone users. The cons of becoming a mobile app developer include the need to spend a lot of time looking at a computer screen and a low entry salary. As with any area of programming, there are three levels of professionals: junior, middle, and senior, and juniors typically have a very low salary while having to do a lot of work. Another obvious issue is that mobile app developers spend many hours in one position looking at a computer screen, which can be harmful to one’s health. To sum up, mobile app development has existed since 1973 and requires one to write applications for smartphones. Although this job implies perspectives for development and interesting tasks, one should carefully examine the main issues that mobile app developers face before choosing it as a career.
Work Cited
Jamsheer, K. “The History and Evolution of Mobile Apps.” ACodez, 2020. Web.
“Sofware Developers.” United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2020. Web.
Valentine, Angelika. “Here’s What a Successful App Developer’s Routine Looks Like.” Proto.io. 2020. Web.