iOS Android user getting in to iOS / Swift dev, will I need an iPhone when going in for interviews

[Haswell]

I currently have an an Android phone, and I am getting into iOS dev using Swift. I choice iOS over Android because I like the language better and Xcode over the Android tools.

When I start going in for job interviews will I need an iPhone to show my apps to potential employers? Or would an iPad Air 2 or iPad Mini work?

I am on a prepaid cell phone plan, so I would have to buy an iPhone at full retail cost upfront. Which is $850 plus tax for the iPhone Plus. The iPhone SE is too small of a screen for me. Which is why I went with a $200 5.5" Android phone over the iPhone.

 

[dejo]

Many employers require you to have apps in the App Store as a demonstration of your portfolio.

 

[Haswell]

Many employers require you to have apps in the App Store as a demonstration of your portfolio.

Thanks!

 

[firewood]

An iPod Touch is another inexpensive alternative for test and demonstrating iOS apps. And you don't need the latest model of iPad or iPod Touch to run the latest iOS version, so a less expensive used/refurb one might do.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Yeah, as an iOS developer you'll definitely want an iOS device. The simulator just isn't good enough to test all situations. I'd recommend an iPhone so that you can test using GPS as well.

 

[1458279]

Part of the answer depends on what kind of jobs you are looking for. Some do business to business or internal apps, while others do consumer apps.

Another issue is the supply/demand in your target area. Right now SF/Bay Area reports almost 1900 open jobs on DICE.

If the demand is high, you could do a few projects that show off your work and put them on a thumb drive. They'll want to look at some code anyways.

The iPod Touch is a great choice. Either of the last two versions should work. I pad Mini is another good choice. Even buying an older iPhone used is an option.

In the end, they're looking for someone that can get the job done and the market generally favors the developer because of the current demand.

One last option is to borrow someone's device for a while, maybe a friend has an older one that hasn't sold yet.

 

[Haswell]

Part of the answer depends on what kind of jobs you are looking for. Some do business to business or internal apps, while others do consumer apps.

Another issue is the supply/demand in your target area. Right now SF/Bay Area reports almost 1900 open jobs on DICE.

If the demand is high, you could do a few projects that show off your work and put them on a thumb drive. They'll want to look at some code anyways.

The iPod Touch is a great choice. Either of the last two versions should work. I pad Mini is another good choice. Even buying an older iPhone used is an option.

In the end, they're looking for someone that can get the job done and the market generally favors the developer because of the current demand.

One last option is to borrow someone's device for a while, maybe a friend has an older one that hasn't sold yet.

I haven't really thought about business to business apps, internal apps, or consumer apps. I just want a new job that pays better then I am currently making.

According to Dice there's 179 jobs in LA and 119 jobs in Orange County for iOS. So I would say that demand is pretty high.

I was thinking about getting an iPad or iPad Mini with cellular that way I can test the GPS.

 

[1458279]

I haven't really thought about business to business apps, internal apps, or consumer apps. I just want a new job that pays better then I am currently making.

According to Dice there's 179 jobs in LA and 119 jobs in Orange County for iOS. So I would say that demand is pretty high.

I was thinking about getting an iPad or iPad Mini with cellular that way I can test the GPS.

What keyword are you using? I use "IOS developer" Los Angles has 35,000 right now. That's interesting that SF has < 10% of what LA has.

GPS is just one aspect of programming certain kinds of apps, I don't know how much demand there is for that.

The strongest growth seems to be two primary areas that are very different. Games and enterprise solutions. Games has sub areas like word/shooter/etc... Unity is one of the hot tools for games.

Enterprise solutions are basically business/utility type apps and it's expected to grow as fast as all games. It would be where the Swift/Objective C would be the primary tools.

You might want to sit and think about this for a while. Going in with an "I know iPhone programming with Swift" to an interview is one thing. Going in with specific skills directed to a branch of programming is another thing.

I personally have decades of business software development behind me and a business degree. So me going into making games would leave a lot of that behind.

The other thing to look at is short term projects vs long term. Short term would be the "app of the month" vs long term which is getting life time customers and maintaining the code for many years. App of the month is quick hitting, throw away stuff.

I wouldn't worry too much about any one part of the device, like GPS, I'd focus on proving that you know more than just tutorial code and that it has something to do with a certain direction (business, games, utility, etc...)

One other tip, get into some of the advanced parts that aren't really found in common tutorials. Some become "cut and paste" programmers.

 

[Haswell]

What keyword are you using? I use "IOS developer" Los Angles has 35,000 right now. That's interesting that SF has < 10% of what LA has.

GPS is just one aspect of programming certain kinds of apps, I don't know how much demand there is for that.

The strongest growth seems to be two primary areas that are very different. Games and enterprise solutions. Games has sub areas like word/shooter/etc... Unity is one of the hot tools for games.

Enterprise solutions are basically business/utility type apps and it's expected to grow as fast as all games. It would be where the Swift/Objective C would be the primary tools.

You might want to sit and think about this for a while. Going in with an "I know iPhone programming with Swift" to an interview is one thing. Going in with specific skills directed to a branch of programming is another thing.

I personally have decades of business software development behind me and a business degree. So me going into making games would leave a lot of that behind.

The other thing to look at is short term projects vs long term. Short term would be the "app of the month" vs long term which is getting life time customers and maintaining the code for many years. App of the month is quick hitting, throw away stuff.

I wouldn't worry too much about any one part of the device, like GPS, I'd focus on proving that you know more than just tutorial code and that it has something to do with a certain direction (business, games, utility, etc...)

One other tip, get into some of the advanced parts that aren't really found in common tutorials. Some become "cut and paste" programmers.

Thanks KarlJay for all of your insight. I deeply appreciate it.

I just put iOS in the job title and put Los Angeles in the city field.

What are some advance parts that aren't really found in common tutorials?

 

[1458279]

Thanks KarlJay for all of your insight. I deeply appreciate it.

I just put iOS in the job title and put Los Angeles in the city field.

What are some advance parts that aren't really found in common tutorials?

Back in the old days they used to have events that would fire pre and post another event. Say entering a text field or using a picker. I used an array of blocks that would load events that would fire before and after the primary event. These used to be call pre/post gets for text fields and would be used for data validation.

Another is data storage. I'm working on a generic database browser that can freeze selected columns.

One of the larger ones is to store business logic separate from the MVC model. This can be thought of as an extension to the MVC model.

The purpose is that during an interview you can show that you have done work that would make their app more advanced.

One of the keys to programming is the ability to write code that makes it so you don't have to write as much code to do more things.

Look at the evolution of programming as an example. Buttons used to be done by hand, people would be on their own to make a button like object. Then, they became standard. Now we have a whole bunch of standard things that you use to put together your app. So if you extend that, you'd write the same kind of things that show you can extend the standard stuff for a specific purpose. This is where you go from general programming productivity to purpose specific productivity.

It's the kind of stuff you'd expect to see from a company that has been working on a project for a number of years. I worked on the logistics for Electronic Arts years ago, we had specific routines to load and compare shipping methods from different shipping vendors. These same routines were used on a number of different projects over the years.

 

[Haswell]

Major thanks KarlJay!!!

 

[tyche]

You could probably buy an unlocked used 5s for $250ish. Doesn't matter if it's small, use it as a devkit and it will have 95% of the feature sets you need (GPS, Touch Id, etc) over a Touch or basic iPad. Great device to get learning on. If you're looking at getting into iOS development I see no reason to sink a lot of money upfront until you're well on your way to feeling this is a path you want to take. And if this is a career path, you'll probably want a 4" device as well as a 4.7" or flagship 5.5" (or know people who do) for testing.

 

[1458279]

You could probably buy an unlocked used 5s for $250ish. Doesn't matter if it's small, use it as a devkit and it will have 95% of the feature sets you need (GPS, Touch Id, etc) over a Touch or basic iPad. Great device to get learning on. If you're looking at getting into iOS development I see no reason to sink a lot of money upfront until you're well on your way to feeling this is a path you want to take. And if this is a career path, you'll probably want a 4" device as well as a 4.7" or flagship 5.5" (or know people who do) for testing.

That brings up a good point. When I started I paid about $300 for an iPT that was pretty close to an iPhone at that time. Now I can't even find apps to put on it and it won't handle past iOS 6
There's a TON of things to learn before you need to be concerned about the device and the device of today will be antique pretty soon.