According to the latest report by Indeed.com, employers’ interest in hiring mobile developers, especially Android, has seen a significant rise from May 2018 to May 2019.
However, the report shows a decline in job seekers’ interest in mobile developer roles during the same period of time.
The report titled “Trending Now: The State of Mobile App Development Jobs” shows that between May 2019 to May 2019, the search results for iOS app developers were down by 25.61% and for Android by 26.34%.
Overall, job searches performed by candidates for mobile developer roles have also declined on the job site by 32.89%.
What caused the slump?
There are different reasons based on developer and consumer perspectives. From developer POV, mobile development is a smaller market than web development.
It is usually easier to steer towards mobile development from web development in comparison to the other way round.
The rise of responsive websites is another big factor. Nearly 50% of website traffic comes from mobile devices, so companies are now more interested in making mobile browser friendly websites rather than creating apps.
Hybrid frameworks like React Native and Xamarin further make it easier for web developers to create simple apps without hassle.
Lastly, taking consumer POV into account, the overall usage of apps is also affecting the numbers.
Studies show that there are several users who download zero number of apps in any given month. This can be again traced back to the fact that responsive websites eliminate the need for apps up to some extent.
Increasing employer interest in mobile development skills (more for Android)
The good news for job seekers is that employers are taking a keen interest in hiring mobile app developers. The report suggests a 10.61% increase in Android Developer job postings.
However, job postings for iOS Developers increased by a meager 1.79%. If we look at the total number of job postings for mobile developer roles (including other platforms), it rose by 4.93%.
Demand for Kotlin-based app developers is high
One of the most interesting insights of the report was the sharp rise in demand for Kotlin programmers (89.41%). But what makes Kotlin so popular?
The dramatic spike in Kotlin can be attributed to the fact that it’s easy to learn and easy to use. This can be supported by the 2019 Stack Overflow survey where Kotlin managed to secure the 4th position for most-loved languages.
But the biggest push came from Google when it officially announced Kotlin as Android’s most preferred language for mobile app development.
Here’s what Google had to say on Kotlin and Android:
This is the right time to take up mobile developer roles
Based on Indeed’s report, this is the right time for aspiring programmers to take up mobile developer roles.
The two biggest reasons to step into this domain are: candidate competition is less while employer interest is building up. And by analyzing the trends, you not only have a better idea of which skills are most appealing to companies but can market yourself best to the tech companies you’re most interested in joining.
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead and learn some new in-demand programming languages and skills to land better career opportunities. Here are such courses you should check out for the same:
