Source
r/androiddev•
sixstringhead

Advice for a former android apps developer

Hello everyone!

I wanted to ask people of this sub some advice regarding my situation. I've been working as a developer from 2015. That's when I got my first job as an android dev. I've worked for a an app specialized for streaming, and even then the architecture and technology weren't that new.

In 2017 I changed my job and worked for a small company developing a very customizable keyboard, but we were 2 devs, and the senior didn't really had time to teach me well so I left (other reasons also). Then, from 2018 until the present, I 've been working in a company in which I was hired as an Android Developer, but in time the focus moved to the other solutions within the project, more like back end, and some web and dev ops.

I've gained a lot of valuable experience, but basically, since the app was mature and very big, I've done only minimum maintenance to a relatively old architecture, no kotlin. I lost touch completely with the latest technology for Android. Android has always been my "true love", and trying to get up to date seems like a nightmare for me. I don't know where to learn from. It seems like everyone has an idea on how to do stuff, and I'm out of the loop on everything. My Linkedin still says I'm a mobile developer, and I've been getting a lot of job offers (tons of opportunities in my city ) , and I've been to 2-3 job interviews, but every time, the feedback is that I should get up to date. I've been trying to develop a new app lately as a personal project and I got overwhelmed, but I learned some Kotlin.

I guess my question is, where should I start? Is Jetpack the best place to look for today's way of coding Android Apps? Would you recommend a guide for a guy who only did apps in java some years ago?

Thank you very much!

Posted Mar 25, 2021, 2:26 PM UTC

37
st4rdr0id•

If you are serious about finding a job as a modern Android Developer, you will have to learn Kotlin, and (sadly), coroutines + Flow. You will also have to learn the most important libraries in Jetpack. Room and ViewModel are very popular. Finally you will have to learn about the new restrictions and changes in the latest Android versions, and also Google Play restrictions/policies.

If you have time left, learn Flutter so that you are not abandoned in the wayside when Fuchsia comes out.

The official documentation is the place to go.

PD: If I were you and had an option to switch to backend/web frontend, I'd bail out of Android before it gets deprecated.

2
mxxxz•

Moving to backend jobs is what I have done 2 years ago, much higher wages, stable and mature development ecosystems compared to the never ending changes on Android and the uncertainty of its future with Java, Kotlin, Fuchsia, Flutter, Dart and apis deprecated all the time and Google fucking up developer accounts with bans all the time..

2
sixstringheadOP•

Thank you for your answer. Deprecated ? Isn't that a little bit too pessimistic?

1
BinkReddit•

...and (sadly), coroutines + Flow.

What's sad about this? Coroutines are great.

1
tesch34•

Neil Smyths Book about Android and the official google docs are the best sources of information imo

Googles training courses are also note that things tend to change very quickly in android atleast in the last years from what i can tell so some of the official training courses use deprecated ways of doing things (e.g. synthetic properities)

1
3domNokia + Samsung•

Kotlin isn't difficult, interviews are much easier than Java (so far from my experience, at least). Once you'll be able to operate Jetpack Navigation, ViewModels and LiveData + coroutines on top - you are good to go. Couple weeks to comprehend it, couple months to get most of it.

1
finaldeveloper•

Hey, I totally get your situation and it's a tough one but definitely solvable.

Android has changed so much in the last 4 years or so, and I could understand how anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to keep up would feel overwhelmed.

I think if you focus on Kotlin and understanding how to implement MVVM using Jetpack ViewModel should get you most of the way there. I'd be asking companies and people at those companies you're interested in what skills they're looking for.

If you'd like to chat further feel to free to send me a message.

1