Changing Lanes: How to Pivot to a Mobile Dev Career

Mobile application development is an exciting field for new developers to enter. After all, people are spending more time on their phones, and more and more companies need mobile apps. This means that it’s a career that pays well and has a lot of demand. But what if you are already an experienced IT professional? Is switching careers to mobile development a good idea? Here’s how and why you might want to pivot to a career as a mobile developer.

Last year, after many years of talking about it, I finally made the switch to mobile development from a 30-year career as an IT professional. In this article, I’ll help you decide whether making that change is right for you and I’ll show you how to avoid some of the mistakes I made when I changed careers.

What You’ll Learn

• The pros and cons of a career change.
• How to level up your mobile development skills to prepare for a change.
• How to start looking for a job in mobile development.

Are you ready to get started?

The Pros and Cons of Changing to a Mobile Dev Career

Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you already have some good reasons for looking into a career change in mind. Perhaps you’re bored with your current career and restless for a new challenge. Maybe you love the idea of creating apps that millions of people will use. Here are some other solid reasons why mobile app development is a strong contender for a new career:

• Great pay: According to Indeed.com, the average mobile dev salary in the United States is over $120,000!
• Growing field: The number of mobile users continues to grow — and according to Statistica, that’s not going to stop anytime soon.
• Growing demand: The more time people spend on their mobile devices, the more apps they want to have available to them. And that means that there will need to be more mobile developers to cover that demand.
• Your choice of industries: Just about every type of company, from multinational banks to local stores, needs mobile app developers to grow their business. That means that you can pick an industry that inspires you to work in.
• Great benefits: Because there is so much demand for mobile developers, good benefits are standard for the role. You can expect perks like solid health insurance, generous leave policies and work-from-home situations.

However, while the perks of a career change might be tempting, there’s a good reason why people say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Be sure to consider some of the downsides of making a switch as well.

You’ll Be Starting Over

If you have a mid- to senior-level role now, you may have freedom, responsibilities and authority that you can’t expect right away in your new role.

Even though you have many years of IT experience, you’ll be starting over and must re-earn those perks in your new role. You’ll have to go through the growth process of this new role, just as you did for your current job.

The good news is that it should take you less time to climb the corporate ladder again, because you already have experience in an organization’s IT department. You just need some new technical skills.

You Might Have More Personal Responsibilities

When you started your current job, you were probably right out of school. At this point in your career, you might have a family and relationships you need to consider.

It’s essential that you discuss your plans with the family members who will be affected. They need to understand you might need to devote some extra time to this new role, both in the initial planning and preparation and once you’ve accepted a new job.

Having your partners understand and support you in this effort will make the process much easier.

You Might Take a Pay Cut

Let’s not forget the money. Chances are you are earning close to the market rate for your current role and years of experience. When you switch roles, you can expect a steep pay cut, at least at first.

For many, the pay cut alone is enough to discourage them from changing roles, but don’t let it stop you from exploring your options. Research mobile development roles in your area and current employer, if applicable. You might find that the pay cut is less steep than you think. If your current employer has a mobile development group, you might even be able to keep your current pay rate and benefits.

You Might Not Be Suited for the Role

Regardless of the benefits, have you really considered whether a role in development is something that you’d like to pursue? This question is directed at those looking to switch that do not have a background in development.

Today, it’s easier to get into development than it has been in the past. Nevertheless, developing the skills and abilities to succeed in the role still takes considerable effort.

Mobile development is constantly changing. Every year, new devices are released with new features, and developers must keep up with the latest trends, programming languages, tools and best practices. That means you need to expect to develop a habit of continuous learning to be successful in this new role.

You Need the Right Equipment

While we are on the subject of tools, you’ll need access to a mobile device and an appropriate computer to develop programs from the mobile device. While it’s safe to assume you have a mobile device, what is not so safe is assuming you have the appropriate computer.

It’s also important to decide the type of device you want to develop programs for: Android or iPhone. While it’s possible to develop for both platforms, it’s challenging for beginners. You’ll make much better progress if you focus on one or the other.

You can develop apps for iPhone and Android with an Apple computer. However, only Android apps can be built with a Windows or Linux PC. The same applies if you consider multi-platform development with Flutter or Kotlin Multiplatform.