Getting Started as an iOS Developer

https://developer.apple.com/

I will attempt to answer the question “How do I get started as an iOS Developer”, by giving a rather classic developer answer: It depends.

I say it depends because I can’t think of an approach best suited for all the possible scenarios. You could be a programming noob who fancy iOS development or you could be an already involved developer, who just wants to transition into native iOS development. This article identifies the focus point for either category.

PROGRAMMING NOOBIES

For a programming noob, your priority should be building the right foundation for yourself. They’re critical concepts that affect everyone who wants to dive into mobile applications irrespective of framework or platform, and you mastering them gives you a chance for smooth transitioning. Your focus should be to:

• Understand Object Oriented Programming concepts
• Take a crash course on a relatively easy-to-learn language, I’ll recommend Javascript or Python, this will help you understand concepts like (Variables, Control Structures, and Data Structures)
• Learn how to use a coding editor like VSCode

TRANSITIONING DEVELOPERS

Your goal as an already experienced developer transitioning into iOS development should be about building the right portfolio that reflects your newly found passion. Short projects are idle during this transition phase and I’ve outlined strategies you could explore during this phase.

• Understand the declarative nature of Swiftui (An overall crash course on the language might help). Once you’ve understood the syntax and how Swift works your next target should be showcasing various skills and understanding of the framework.
• Design apps that consume APIs to build fancy and nice UIs (Check out this repository for accessible APIs)
• Build Clones (Twitter, Github, Instagram, TikTok, etc).
• Grow and maintain momentum by keeping your delivery targets short and simple.

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Have a casual focus (AR Tech, Gaming, Finance, Communication) Something you would commit to building different use cases around to build your portfolio.
• Invest in publication platforms to showcase your work not just push codes to GitHub.
• Spend more time on your app’s UI presentation. (Don’t judge a book by its cover doesn’t apply to iOS developers, lol).
• Join communities.
• Finally don’t forget to have fun with it as you grow.

Enjoy my writing? Let me know in the comments!

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