Android development for beginners
Share my experience, I will
The question I get asked the most is how I became an Android developer or what resources did I find the most useful. So today I am going to try and curate all that helped me start my journey.
Note: This is not a point-to-point guide to becoming a developer, what worked for me might not work for you.
Now that you’ve decided to step into the dark side, let’s begin.
Stick to one tutorial 🔠
One major problem with multiple resources available online is that people often tend to get confused about the best course to start and end up abandoning the idea of completing one at all. It’s not necessary that the one you’ve chosen is the ultimate, best, most effective course ever but I recommend that whichever you decide to stick to, finish it.
One I found the most effective is https://developer.android.com/courses, you’ll find a bunch of tutorials/codelabs for the different levels of development.
Documentation, StackOverflow, blogs, Github, and whatnot 📄
ASK QUESTIONS! If you have any doubts, make sure to look them up and get clarity. Nowadays, there are multiple ways to find out about anything, first and foremost is to go through the official documentation. Google each doubt, no matter how silly or complicated it may be. You’ll find a blog/some solution on Github or Youtube or on StackOverflow which I personally enjoy the most.
Get the tools and dive in! 🛠
People often find it strange when I tell them to set up Android Studio to experiment and play around with on day 1. It may get a bit difficult but once you have it ready, you can start with a small project to work on.
I started by making a simple torch app with a countdown timer. Along with my courses, I was able to get a hands-on experience and the familiarity with the tool helped me grasp it faster so I feel there’s no better way to learn and remember than by experiencing it.
Now, I know, it can get a little overwhelming to look at multiple kt/java files at once, trying to understand what’s a Manifest or an Activity or Gradle, but it’s important to focus on one thing at a time and the tutorial will guide you through everything one-by-one.
Join a developer community 👩🏼💻
This has been one of the most helpful things in my journey. I have constantly been a part of multiple developer clubs and chapters and I was always around mentors and beginners like me! Apart from learning Android development, I was able to pick up Git and learn the basics of being a good developer and contributor in the community. It also helped me stay motivated through multiple developer events and community projects.
Challenge yourself 👊🏼
One thing which I loved doing the most was participating in hackathons. I have attended multiple hacks and I didn’t wait to complete my course or become a beginner level developer to participate in one. I just went as a noob among 100s of other amazing developers. I always went with a motto of solving problems by building an app and I loved the overnight thrill to finish the challenge.
Now what I am trying to say is that don’t make this journey monotonous. Go to a hack and try to build an app overnight, see how far you can get, or give yourself a project with a deadline, keep adding features to it as you go. Make projects, push them to Github, write blogs around it, get feedback, publish your app to Google Playstore, do everything you can imagine and you’ll learn so much on the way.
Be consistent 🧘♀️
This isn’t just to be an android developer but to get better at anything you want. Consistency will build momentum towards progress. It’s important to commit (and I also mean git commits but we’ll get to that some other time) and make sure you show up.
The key point to growing is to remember that there’s always scope for improvement and there’s no age to stop learning! Always remember to adapt, evolve and trust your skills.
Okay, I think that’s enough “gyaan” on the subject. I hope this helps you or if you have anything more to add, feel free to drop a comment, would love to hear your stories.
You can also reach out to me if you need any help. Thanks for reading.
May the force be with you ✌️
