How to land Android Dev job in 2019 part1
How to land Android Dev job in 2019 part1
Introduction
1. Do the Maths
If you decided that you want to be an Android developer, you need to plan your process. If you don’t do it now, you waste your time. So schedule uninterrupted time blocks. Aim for at least 4h a day.
And do the math. It is not so obvious but it’s really important. The toughest thing in this plan is to realize that nothing is random. You are not paid for learning on your own so you don’t see results in cash for now. You may think that 1 wasted hour doesn’t change a lot. But it’s bullshit.
2. Learn the basics of Java language
Why not Kotlin? Kotlin is much better but Java is essential. Learn the basics of Java before you put your hands on Kotlin.
If you already know the basics of Kotlin, Java or a similar language(C#, Swift, C, C++, Python)- just check out Java syntax. This way you will understand the code in Android Framework guides.
Otherwise, invest some time in learning Java or find a full Android course that doesn’t require Java skills. Buy a full course on Udemy if you want to save time.
3. Use GIT version control
It’s super important to learn the basics of GIT. This way you can publish your progress on a public repository.
You don’t have to know how to use rebase, GitFlow, cherry-pick, etc yet. Just learn about master and dev branches and how to merge them.
Extra points for checking out tags and app versioning. Those 2 things are really simple.
4. Learn Android Framework
You can buy a full tutorial so you can code along with the instructor to learn faster. Remember to use GIT. Let’s look at examples of things that are super important, nice to know and things that you should avoid for now.
Super important to learn:
1. RecyclerView lists
2. Activity lifecycle
3. Skim through Android components
4. Material Design for Android principles
5. Displaying images and icons
6. Adding icons to a project
Nice to know:
1. Shared Preferences
2. Simple web requests
3. ScrollView
4. CardView
5. SwipeRefreshLayout
Things to avoid for now
1. Don’t learn RxJava/RxKotlin before app hits version 1.0
2. Don’t dive into Dagger or dependency injection before v1.0
3. Avoid spending too much time on Fragments for now
4. Design patterns
5. Develop a simple app
To get an Android job fast there is nothing better than a simple app in your portfolio. It’s like flying private, passing by a line of a people that only have college diplomas and fly commercial. A diploma is only useful if you display it in a nice ScrollView and deploy to Google Play. But there are better app ideas.
Develop an app that displays a list of items in RecyclerView. It’s important because this view is used everywhere. Paginate the list for extra points. If you can’t paginate then at least learn how it works. Then copy implementation from StackOverflow.
And maybe a simple preview of this item in a new activity. It can include zoomable ImageView too.
It doesn’t have to be innovative. If you don’t have an earth-shaking idea, don’t overthink it. Go for a list of your dream guitar collection or list of characters from your favorite movie. You can model it after my simple application: MyWins2. It’s the second version of one of my first Android app.
Aim for a simple version 1.0 that works properly and looks good. Store all the changes in a public Github/Gitlab repository. This way reviewers will be able to check out your repository and see changes.
6. Publish your app
Create a google developer account and deploy your app in version 1.0 to Google Play. Prepare some photos and description for your GitHub/Gitlab repository. Preferably with some images or a nice GIF.
Do the same with your app description on Google Play. It improves the presence of your app.
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