Hey! This is Overpass Insights! My name is Eric and I make apps!
Now today, I want to give my advice for becoming an Android developer in 2019.
Alright, so today, I want to answer a question that came in last weekend from
Roberto Cossia, I think this came in on Easter Sunday. So Roberto says, "Hi, I
started an MSc and software engineering after changing career from Nursing." I
think that was a good move. Nothing against nurses, but I think that sounds
really challenging and really difficult. I think being a software developer to me
sounds like it would be a bit more fun. I think I couldn't imagine being in the
nursing field but... "I follow your videos since one year ago. I learned Java and
OOP and I'm gonna buy an Android book. I would like to ask for your suggestions in
order to become a successful Android developer and open my own business in
the future. What would you suggest to your son if he
wanted to start his career in Android development? Is it possible to generate
income starting from zero in 2019? Thank you for your time. Roberto.
Alright, good question. Starting from zero is it possible to make revenue or
to make income? Yeah, definitely. I genuinely believe that. Software
development is different than other professions because we're able to take
something that doesn't exist and create it out of thin air. And the problem you
have is whether or not you get people to pay for it. As to what kind of advice I
would give to my kids first of all I have I have three kids and they're all
going into their own things and none of them are interested in going into
software development as much as I try to make it look cool they're just not
interested but a lot of the times the advice is still the same regardless of
what they go into the question you ask saying is it still possible to do it in
2019 I think the Assumption there is that there's it's too crowded it's too
difficult like it used to be if you were gonna start you should have started five
years ago when it was easier you should have started ten years ago when it was
easier right that's not an option right and most other professions we don't have
that that feeling that it used to be easier than it is now or it's it's that
this is easy to do or this is just free money that people hand out it's a job
like any other and you have to get really really good at it right and
there's different ways you can go as an Android developer right you could
release your own applications put stuff on the Play Store which Rick Carlo what
you should be doing anyway right on your spare time I think everybody
should be if you're an Android developer you should be putting out apps regularly
even if they're not perfect even if they're not great it's just you're
you're putting the reps and you're getting really good at it okay so
there's two ways you go you need to go that way or you could go get a job for
somebody sometimes getting a job for somebody is a really good way to learn
how to get better at that craft right and as more and more Android developers
you know be learnt they get skilled up they become Android developers then
there are a lot too many apps going to the Play Store there are too many people
looking for those Android jobs but that always happens every time something you
get this hell is this is easy money I'm just going to take a course and I'm
going to become an expert at this everybody does it and all you have to do
is be better than the rest of them I mean many times in my career we've seen
we've seen this kind of stuff I mean in the early 2000s I can remember when
everybody became an HTML developer right they and everybody became a web
developer and then we had the bubble burst and then the economy went funny
and then everyone got back to their senses and a lot of people they just
fell off the map they stopped being web developers they went on to do their
other jobs right and it was all the people who were either really good at
what they did or more dedicated and really just hanging on there that were
able to keep it and every so often we get that where we get this thing where
supply outweighs demand and when that happens when we have too many Android
developers what happens is a lot of them fall by the wayside if you take a look
at the Play Store you I meet a lot of people who said oh yeah I released an
Android app five years ago I'd never even updated it nobody downloaded it I
just sort of stopped doing it they just it's there right the only reason it's
still on the Play Store is because it's there forever it's not like iOS where
they have to renew it every year they just leave it on there so that's why
it's so crowded so what I'm trying to say Roberto and any if I was going to
give my kids any advice is get really really good at doing it right get really
good at doing it rather than then thinking about the money if you get
really good at doing the money will be to be fine you'll be able to get a job
doing it or you'll be able to produce something that's really good earlier
this week I gave a talk to students at a school in Oxford it was pretty cool
we're tired of talking about about app development but then also talked a
little bit about YouTube and stuff and I was talking to a young lady who writes a
blog right and she was saying she was asking me when you started your YouTube
videos and nobody was watching how did you keep going because she was having
this problem with her blog she's blogging and nobody's reading it and
she's getting discouraged and my whole thing was at some point you're gonna get
this huge idea you're gonna get this really great concept and you're gonna be
able to fly whether you're gonna find your voice you're gonna be able what
your when you need to do but the way to get that is to keep writing right the
last thing you want as an Android developer or as any kind of software
developer the last thing you want is for you get this spark of inspiration this
great idea the idea that really makes it go for you and you're not prepared for
it because you haven't learned how to code yet you haven't learned how to do
what you need to do yet right get really really good at it be prolific start
putting stuff out there if you're not putting stuff out there for yourself do
stuff for other people get some clients I mean a lot of the stuff I learned I'm
doing for clients or I guess just a client comes in and we're able to get
really really good at it and just putting the reps in and get it and you
know when I get that big idea the next big idea I get I'm gonna be ready to
pounce on it we're gonna be able to release it because we know how to do it
right anyway that's just my advice for you Roberto don't get discouraged don't
let anybody talk you out of doing this I think it's a good profession there's
gonna be plenty of work out there if you get a job working for somebody if you
need to that could be the fallback even though the goal is doing your own
company doing your own apps all that kind of stuff
right who is that's my goal to write but you know if I had to if I had to if all
of this claps around me I'd be standing in that my CV would be out on the market
again I did I have no no no question in my mind about that so the rest of you
guys out there who want to offer a Roberto some advice please do I know I
have these little rants every so often but I generally chamber believe that
yeah you can start from zero software development is that we create something
from nothing we look at a blank code window and we create something how many
other professions can you say that from so anyway that is it for today this week
whatever the new format well talk to you next time
you