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CHEAT SHEET:

HOW TO BECOME AN iOS

DEVELOPER

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 HOW TO BECOME AN iOS DEVELOPER: A CHEAT SHEET

TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 What does an iOS developer do?

3 Why is there increased demand for iOS
developers?
3 What are the best programming
languages to learn?
4 What other skills are required to
become an iOS developer?
5 What is the average iOS developer
salary?
5 What are some typical iOS developer
interview questions?
5 Where can I find resources for a career
in iOS development?

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 HOW TO BECOME AN iOS DEVELOPER: A CHEAT SHEET

HOW TO BECOME AN iOS DEVELOPER:

A CHEAT SHEET
BY ALISON DENISCO RAYOME

As more companies adopt a mobile-first approach, iOS developers who build apps for Apple devices are in
high demand, with talent shortages leading to large salaries for many of those in the field. Developers who
know the necessary programming languages and other skills can create apps that enterprises and consumers use
every day to make their lives more productive.

To help those interested in the field better understand how to break into a career in mobile development, we
compiled the most important details and resources. This guide on how to become an iOS developer will be
updated on a regular basis.

WHAT DOES AN iOS DEVELOPER DO?

An iOS developer builds, tests, and refines applications for mobile devices that use Apple’s iOS operating
system that are consistent with the goals and standards of their company or client. They need to have a strong
understanding of iOS and how it works with different Apple devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch,
and Apple TV, and be able to adapt their applications to their firm’s or client’s requirements.

WHY IS THERE INCREASED DEMAND FOR iOS DEVELOPERS?

While Android holds more of a global market share, Apple now has 1.4 billion active devices--all of which run
on iOS, therefore, demand for iOS developers who can create apps for these devices that are sold in the Apple
App Store has exploded in recent years. The App Store is predicted to reach 5 million apps by 2020, according
to a Sensor Tower report.

Mobile developers are among the top 10 most in-demand and hardest to fill tech jobs, according to data from
Indeed. The US Bureau of Labor and Statistics predicts that application developer jobs will grow 31% between
2016 and 2026.

WHAT ARE THE BEST PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

TO LEARN?
iOS developers most commonly program in Swift and Objective-C.

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 HOW TO BECOME AN iOS DEVELOPER: A CHEAT SHEET

Swift is a general-purpose compiled coding language released by Apple in 2014. It offers better type safety,
security, and performance than Objective-C, according to TechRepublic contributing writer Cory Bohon. Swift
is used for developing for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and Linux. Apps built with Swift can be run on iOS
devices dating back to iOS 7 or later, and OS X devices dating back to OS X 10.9 or later.

Bohon also noted that Swift is interoperable with Objective-C, which is a general-purpose, object-oriented
programming (OOP) language based on C that added OOP paradigms to the language through object
messaging. Objective-C was the main programming language used by Apple for iOS before Swift was intro-
duced. Since it has been around since 1984, Objective-C still represents a significant proportion of Apple’s
code base.

At WWDC 2019 in June, Apple announced a new framework for its Swift programming language: SwiftUI.
SwiftUI is built in Swift, for Swift, and makes code easier to write and understand. It is designed to help devel-
opers build better apps with far less code, and will be available in fall 2019, executives said.

WHAT OTHER SKILLS ARE REQUIRED TO BECOME

AN iOS DEVELOPER?
Besides learning Swift and Objective-C, people who want to become iOS developers should learn the following
skills, according to Udacity.

• Spatial reasoning: Successful iOS developers must be able to think in 3D and visualize the spatial
relations between objects when designing apps for users; this means understanding the types of controls
and inputs that are available for the different platforms, as well as who your users are.
• Design guidelines: iOS apps must be intuitive for users and adhere to strict design guidelines.
Developers need to learn how to create Model-View-Controller (MVC), delegate patterns, and
notifications.
• Networking: Just about every app interacts with the internet in some way; therefore, iOS developers
must know how to send and receive data from the network, which is done through JavaScript Object
Notation (JSON).
• Core Data: This is the framework for storing data on Apple devices--an important part of almost any app.
• Grand Central Dispatch (GCD): This is what allows developers to add concurrency to apps, making it
possible to run multiple tasks at the same time without slowing down performance.
• Git and GitHub: The platforms Git and GitHub help with version control for longer projects and team
projects.

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 HOW TO BECOME AN iOS DEVELOPER: A CHEAT SHEET

Upwork also recommends that iOS developers learn Apple’s Xcode IDE, frameworks and APIs like
Foundation, UIKit, and CocoaTouch, UI and UX design, Apple Human Interface Guidelines, 2D and 3D
graphics frameworks like SpriteKit and SceneKit, OpenGL or Metal, and iOS graphics APIs.

WHAT IS THE AVERAGE iOS DEVELOPER SALARY?

Average reported annual salaries for iOS developers in the US differ based on different websites: Glassdoor
puts the average at $106,557, while Indeed says it’s $111,915 per year. As you might expect, salaries are higher in
large tech hubs such as San Francisco and New York City, according to Dice.

WHAT ARE SOME TYPICAL iOS DEVELOPER

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS?
iOS developers can expect questions like these during a job interview.

• Why do you develop for iOS?

• Do you own an iPhone or other Apple products?
• What three things make a great mobile app?
• Describe an interesting project you’re involved with currently. Why are you excited about it?
• What is your process for gaining insights into what your users want and need?
• Can you describe a project where you were under significant deadline pressure? How did you approach
that project?
While it’s important to prepare for the questions you might be asked by the employer as a developer job
candidate, it’s also key to know what questions you will ask them. Some questions might include:

• How will my performance be measured?

• What are the biggest challenges facing the team right now?
• Can you tell me about the members of the team that I would be joining?
• Is there room for growth?

WHERE CAN I FIND RESOURCES FOR A CAREER

IN IOS DEVELOPMENT?
There are different paths into a career as an iOS developer, and the skills or degrees required typically depend
on the job.

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 HOW TO BECOME AN iOS DEVELOPER: A CHEAT SHEET

Learning the programming languages Swift and Objective-C are necessities. You will need a Mac, and if
you’re developing for iOS, watchOS, or tvOS, you’ll need one of those devices as well, Bohon noted. You can
download and install Xcode, and then the Objective-C and Swift compiler (LLVM) will be installed on your
Mac. Opening Xcode will present options for beginning projects in either Swift or Objective-C.

About 72% of professional developers have a degree in computer science or another engineering discipline,
according to Stack Overflow’s 2019 Developer Survey. However, degrees are increasingly not necessary to
advance in the development field, due to a shortage of developers in many areas and the rise of coding schools.

Some 87% of developers said they have taught themselves a new language, framework, or tool without taking a
formal course, while 60% said they had taken an online course in programming or software development, like a
massive open online course (MooC), Stack Overflow found.

No matter your education background, it’s key to have a portfolio of your work to show employers whether
you are working in iOS or any other type of development. “The reality of getting hired as a developer is that
it’s way easier to get hired if you show the company what you have done,” Nick Larsen, a data engineer at Stack
Overflow, is quoted as saying in a t. “A portfolio of projects and products you have made credible contribu-
tions to is worth more than years of experience or schooling.”

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