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What would be the learning path for mobile development, and would you become a software engineer for it?

Bismuth

New Coder
Hello. New to code forum here. I am getting into coding, but I am kind of confused about the learning path of software engineering and mobile development. I would like to develop computer and mobile apps, but I would also like to learn web development and other skills that would allow me to have more consistent employment. So my question is, do you become a software engineer to become a mobile app developer? Does a software engineer learn the things necessary enough to become a mobile app developer, or would are they a separate process? I don't want to learn mobile app development solely and not have the more employable language skills of software engineering, but I also don't want to become a software engineer, and not the knowledge of mobile app development necessary to fulfill the creation of my own work and my own projects. What in your opinion would be the best way to go about it?
 
Hello. New to code forum here. I am getting into coding, but I am kind of confused about the learning path of software engineering and mobile development. I would like to develop computer and mobile apps, but I would also like to learn web development and other skills that would allow me to have more consistent employment. So my question is, do you become a software engineer to become a mobile app developer? Does a software engineer learn the things necessary enough to become a mobile app developer, or would are they a separate process? I don't want to learn mobile app development solely and not have the more employable language skills of software engineering, but I also don't want to become a software engineer, and not the knowledge of mobile app development necessary to fulfill the creation of my own work and my own projects. What in your opinion would be the best way to go about it?

Generally speaking, software development, mobile app development, and web development can go hand in hand.

Let's look at software development and mobile app development first. As an example, let's look at the remote administration tool Anydesk. Anydesk allows you to control a machine remotely, much like TeamViewer. Normally, you would think that an application that would allow you to control a machine from another machine, would be just a desktop application. However, given how sophisticated mobile phones are becoming, Anydesk also created a mobile version for Android.

Now let's look at the relationship between web development and mobile app development. Let's use Walmart (or substitute any commercial chain store) as our case study. The store has a website (walmart.com), where you can look at store inventory, order items, pay for said items, etc. Not sure if you have noticed, but lately it appears that every store has a mobile app that allows you to do everything that you would do from the website, without having to open up a browser on your phone or on your laptop/desktop.

To get to the point: learning one vs the other will not make you less marketable. It all depends on what you want to do as a full time career, what you want to do on your own time. As far as how to go about it, pick a language that can ideally be used in all three, software/mobile/web (you may need to learn multiple languages and learn how to integrate them to each other), learn the basics, learn advanced topics.

Here is a great article explaining the differences between each path
 
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Generally speaking, software development, mobile app development, and web development can go hand in hand.

Let's look at software development and mobile app development first. As an example, let's look at the remote administration tool Anydesk. Anydesk allows you to control a machine remotely, much like TeamViewer. Normally, you would think that an application that would allow you to control a machine from another machine, would be just a desktop application. However, given how sophisticated mobile phones are becoming, Anydesk also created a mobile version for Android.

Now let's look at the relationship between web development and mobile app development. Let's use Walmart (or substitute any commercial chain store) as our case study. The store has a website (walmart.com), where you can look at store inventory, order items, pay for said items, etc. Not sure if you have noticed, but lately it appears that every store has a mobile app that allows you to do everything that you would do from the website, without having to open up a browser on your phone or on your laptop/desktop.

To get to the point: learning one vs the other will not make you less marketable. It all depends on what you want to do as a full time career, what you want to do on your own time. As far as how to go about it, pick a language that can ideally be used in all three, software/mobile/web (you may need to learn multiple languages and learn how to integrate them to each other), learn the basics, learn advanced topics.

Here is a great article explaining the differences between each path
So essentially it is about just learning the languages you need, whether or not the fall into the either category of software engineering and software development?
 
If you want to get started then I would recommend either learning some HTML/Javascript and using PhoneGap to port your app over - You could also play with Electron to build software for your computer this way.

If you want to build native apps then I highly recommend learning Java first and building Android apps.
 
So essentially it is about just learning the languages you need, whether or not the fall into the either category of software engineering and software development?
Yes and no. Learning the languages you need is most definitely a must, no matter what area you are leaning towards. The idea is to do as the old cliche tells you to do..."follow your heart". If you feel a calling for making applications that users will use on a daily or regular basis, no matter if you decide to monetize on it or make it an open source project, then software/mobile development is the way to proceed. If you feel that you would rather be doing something that will generate traffic for your clients, then web development is the way to go (you should be careful though... web development splits off in 3 branches... frontend (web design, making the site look pretty... alias client-side), backend (dealing with databases, APIs, login systems, servers, making the site functional and maintenance... alias server-side), and full-stack (making the site both pretty and functional)). Just be mindful that all paths will cross in more ways than one lol.
 
Yes and no. Learning the languages you need is most definitely a must, no matter what area you are leaning towards. The idea is to do as the old cliche tells you to do..."follow your heart". If you feel a calling for making applications that users will use on a daily or regular basis, no matter if you decide to monetize on it or make it an open source project, then software/mobile development is the way to proceed. If you feel that you would rather be doing something that will generate traffic for your clients, then web development is the way to go (you should be careful though... web development splits off in 3 branches... frontend (web design, making the site look pretty... alias client-side), backend (dealing with databases, APIs, login systems, servers, making the site functional and maintenance... alias server-side), and full-stack (making the site both pretty and functional)). Just be mindful that all paths will cross in more ways than one lol.
Thank you for your insight
 

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