10 Steps to Become an iOS Developer in 2020

You need something else to keep you going when you will inevitably lose your initial motivation. Before I started teaching, I worked as a freelancer for several years for small, medium, and big clients. Before that, I worked as an iOS developer for an agency making apps for top companies and for a Dutch social network like Facebook (that does not exist anymore). While the salaries for iOS developers can be attractive, money is often not the only motivation. Software development requires certain skills and personality traits. So it’s crucial to focus on the right things and not waste time on useless activities.

Gaming applications are the most popular category in the Apple app store [1]. A notable example is Apex Legends, Apple’s iPhone Game of the Year in 2022 [2]. It was developed by iOS developers at Electronic Arts (EA), a video game publishing company. IOS developers specializing in game development may be employed by companies like EA or Ubisoft, work independently, or partner with other creatives for a specific gaming project. You can explore public code repositories, tools, and tutorials for iOS game development on GitHub. If you’ve ever used an app on an Apple device, you have an iOS app developer to thank.

The Architecture of a Modern Startup

I knew a guy that wanted that kind of salary here in The Netherlands, where I live. If, understandably, you don’t care about me, feel free to jump to the next section. It’s up to you that you want to or not to have an app in the App Store, but a lot of companies evaluate this as a big plus in your resume during the interview process. At this point, you should start to make your own, custom app which you will show to your future employer on the company interview.

Then, you can start reaching out to local businesses, non-profits, or even friends and family to assist with web development projects on the side. If you know you want to focus on Apple products, that means you’re going to have to specialize on development for iOS. There are programs you can install on your Mac or iPhone to get started, such as Xcode. Start by researching the challenges iOS developers often face, and if your budget allows, get acquainted with as many Apple products as you can. For iOS development, there are two programming languages available. Besides learning Swift and Objective-C, people who want to become iOS developers should learn the following skills to prepare for a developer job, according to Udacity.

What Is an iOS Developer?

And facilitator guides give any club leader the tools to get students creating with code. Get introduced to the tools, language, and design principles that make apps work seamlessly with Apple platforms. Download exam preparation guides to get ready for exams. Once you’ve passed an exam, display your verified digital badge on any professional networking site. Extend your knowledge and skill in iOS app development creating more complex and capable apps.

That usually means these companies target the two iOS versions before the current one. So, they will adopt SwiftUI only when iOS 15 comes out later this year. On top of that, they won’t rewrite their UIKit code from zero, so you’ll have to mix the two. IOS is vast and filled with technologies, frameworks, and design patterns. Every software platform is different, so even if you are already a developer, you will have to learn how things work in iOS. After learning to program in Swift, the next step is learning how to make iOS apps.

Get help from Apple experts.

If you’re ready to distribute apps to customers, the Apple Developer Program provides everything you need to build apps with advanced capabilities and make them available worldwide. You can also distribute custom apps to specific businesses or proprietary apps within your organization. While there isn’t a developer program specifically for students, learning to develop apps for Apple platforms is free to everyone. With just an Apple ID, you can access Xcode, software downloads, documentation, sample code, forums, and Feedback Assistant, and you can test your apps on devices. If you’d like to distribute apps, you can join the Apple Developer Program.

Anything that gets in your way is going to make it harder and demoralize you when you don’t get results. One of the worst things I see again and again online is people teaching Swift programming and iOS development at the same time. As a developer, you will work with designers that take care of the visual appearance of an app. That means you don’t need to learn how to use design tools like Sketch, Figma, or Omnigraffle.

The foundations of iOS development

What’s more, the best iOS Developers combine technical expertise with a range of soft skills. These may take additional time to hone, but fortunately, they can be practiced across a range of disciplines. All of the above skills are taught in our iOS Developer Nanodegree program which also comes with an array of projects to give you hands-on training. Colloquially known as GCD, Grand Central Dispatch is what allows you to add what’s called “concurrency” to your apps, thereby making it possible for multiple tasks to run simultaneously with ease. For those with programming experience who want to become familiar with Swift, check out Udacity’s Swift Syntax course.

• You will start by learning the basics of iOS app development using the Swift programming language and Xcode, Apple’s development environment.
• Reading code of other people, when you have no idea what it does or why, is just an exercise in frustration, especially when you don’t have the skills to do it.
• You will need to join the Apple iOS Developer Program to submit your apps ($99/year).
• Now that your iOS development environments are set up, it’s time to learn the different iOS tools.
• We’ve incorporated Swift and SwiftUI examples into our documentation.
• You need something else to keep you going when you will inevitably lose your initial motivation.

There are thousands of unfulfilled iOS development job positions, anywhere in the world you are located now. Software companies are looking for iOS programmers on every level of advancement — interns, testers, juniors, mids, seniors, experts, or team leaders. This article is for real beginners — I will try to help you land your first job as an iOS developer. Since its launch in 2017, Flutter has quickly become a top choice for iOS app development. Using Flutter, they can code once and deploy their apps to iOS, Android, web and desktop. This has led to a massive following, with over a million apps built using Flutter.

Make sure that the device you buy can run the latest version of iOS so that you can use the latest features. At the time of writing, that is iOS 14, which includes https://wizardsdev.com/en/vacancy/middle-ios-developer-swift/ features, like widgets, not available on previous versions. Sometimes, though, you might need to test features that are not available in the simulator.

And it’s a good question — taking bad advice from people who know nothing about the app business is not a good idea. The Apple Developer Enterprise Program and the iOS Developer University Program each require separate identity verification. To enroll, you’ll need to set up a new Apple ID and go through our standard verification process. I help entrepreneurs productize their expertise and launch online workshops, courses, coaching programs and membership communities. Book a flow session with me where I’ll help you identify the most effective growth strategy and tactics to maximize your time, profit and impact. Considering that 3-month iOS Bootcamp cost between $7000-$10,000 dollars, learning with an online course is an amazing deal if you’re a self-directed learner.