Just like there are different types of mobile apps, mobile app developers also come with a different set of skills. For starters, native apps for Android and iOS are built using completely different programming languages. Thus, an iOS app developer from
iOS app agency has to master Swift which is based on Objective-C as well as Cocoa Touch or other frameworks to actually write an app. As for Android app developers, they have to be able to write in Java (it’s also possible to use C and C++ with NDK though). And that’s not even a complete list of skills one should have to build native apps. There are many technologies and tools a developer can use while building an application.
Best-Paid Skills Are in Great Demand!
Aside from native apps, there are hybrid, cross-platform apps as well as SPAs and serverless applications to consider. Each type can be built with a number of different techniques and technologies. All of the said above has to do one thing - make it as obvious as possible that mobile app developers come with completely different sets of skills. It’s not hard to find what skills exactly each type of developer has to have. Moreover, it’s not what this article is about. It’s more interesting to find out what skills are in great demand. The same skills usually positively affect (increase) the salary of a developer.
Trending Skills for Mobile App Developers
Let’s start with an overall overview. According to The Balance Careers, Android and iOS app developers look more appealing for employers when they have the following skills:
- Experience in Agile methodologies
- Good communication and soft skills
- Critical thinking, problem-solving and creativity
- Active learners (seek new knowledge)
- Teamwork and effective time-management
- UI and UX understanding
You can find a complete list here. Obviously, these skills sound like something any developer could benefit from. Let’s dig deeper and find out what are those particular skills that make it to the top of the best-paid list (as well as the most demanded list). Keep in mind that we only consider the USA market for now but it’s probably almost the same in other locations.
Skills That Affect Mobile App Developer Salary
First of all, let’s clear out that mobile app developer salary in the USA can range from 50K to 120K depending on experience, skills and job position - source. The main thing that affects the salary is experience but let’s focus on the skills.
It turns out that cross-platform mobile development is popular enough to make Xamarin the most demanded skill. Among the most popular skills are:
- Xamarin
- Deep understanding of iOS
- Deep understanding of Android OS
- Android Software development Kit (SDK)
- Java
- Swift
- Web development
So, it seems like a modern mobile app developer should not only be highly skilled in the native programming language like Java, C++, Objective-C (Swift) and frameworks used alongside but also have great soft skills and web development backgrounds. It’s also beneficial to have experience with APIs, database management and security. Anyways, the biggest salaries are for the most experienced professionals (as always).
