How Long Does it Take to Learn Mobile Development?

Like many aspiring Mobile Developers, you might want to learn mobile development but worry that it will take too much time. For novice programmers, learning mobile development can take a long time, as much as 2-3 years of training. For more experienced programmers, learning mobile development is still an ordeal and can take several months. Of course, this depends on several factors. Keep reading to learn about how you can learn mobile development and some resources to help speed the process along.

What is Mobile Development?

As of 2021, there were as many as 6.4 billion smartphones worldwide. For smartphone users, The vast majority of smartphone users engage with their device using their apps–up to 88% of total use. Mobile applications are quickly becoming the most common way we interact with the digital space, and this shifts virtually every industry, company, and institution to prioritize using mobile applications in their branding and marketing strategies. In addition, adjacent industries, such as the mobile gaming industry, are becoming massive sources of revenue, meaning that more and more companies are moving towards mobile development as a primary, rather than a secondary, focus.

Learning mobile development skills involves learning general programming principles and tools, and languages explicitly designed for popular mobile devices. Both iOS and Android devices take advantage of proprietary programming languages built from the ground up to be optimized for those devices. Mobile development differs from general programming in that it emphasizes how applications can be designed to run optimally on any mobile device since there is a world of difference between an iPhone 12 and a Surface Tablet. Mobile Developers will be tasked with learning all the skills required to ensure that all of the application's necessary features are functional and easy to utilize regardless of who is accessing the application and on what device it is being accessed.

Read more about what mobile development is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Mobile Development?

One of the most compelling reasons to learn mobile development skills comes from the fact that the technological infrastructure is constantly improving. What was unheard of five years ago has become the technical default, and developers are constantly improving the hardware and software associated with mobile devices. This evolution makes mobile application development an incredible specialization for developers who want to be on the cutting edge as new industries and practices emerge. Whether you are interested in designing new mobile games, essential accessibility services, or working within newly emerging digital marketplaces, mobile app development skills will significantly boost your potential.

Mobile application development is also an excellent skill set for working within the developing world of the internet of things. Our phones and tablets are becoming more directly integrated with the devices and objects we interact with daily. From QR code readers to digital assistants to medical alert technology in wearables, mobile devices serve many seemingly mundane but still vital functions in our everyday lives. While developers looking to work in this field will need to learn other advanced programming skills, students with a background in mobile development will have a much easier time creating complex applications meant to extend the reach of the mobile device.

Average Time it Takes to Learn Mobile Development

While it will vary from person to person, mobile development skills are specialized, advanced programming skills, meaning they will generally take a lot of time to learn. Those with programming experience will likely be able to pick them up relatively quickly. Still, even for experienced students, taking a few months to learn the language is standard. Beginners without programming skills may find that it takes upwards of a few years to master mobile development skills.

Other Factors

The most significant factor that impacts the time it will take to learn mobile development is how much experience you have as a programmer. The second most crucial factor will be what kind of mobile development projects you create.

Programming Experience

There are no formal prerequisites for learning mobile development languages, but they aren’t ideal first languages. Future students wanting to develop applications for platforms like Android or iOS will want to learn other programming languages first to become familiar with the art of programming. This step will naturally make learning the more advanced programming languages take longer.

Amount of languages learned

Since Apple iOS and Google Android are two very different operating systems, prospective students who want to learn how to develop programs on both will need additional training, resulting in that training taking longer. Learners who only want to learn to develop one system will learn those skills more quickly but may find that their options are more limited.

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

Mobile development is a relatively challenging kind of computer programming because of the many different variables, and the languages are less flexible. However, it is still an in-demand career skill that comprises a lot of versatile and transferable skills. Mobile development is probably not the best-suited skill for novice developers to try and pick up. Still, with sufficient training and experience, it is a set of skills that are very productive in the long run.

While there are no technical prerequisites to learning mobile development, experts strongly recommend that languages like Swift are not the first programming languages you opt to learn. Enrollees in a dedicated mobile development course want experience working with computer code. There is no specific language requirement, but learning HTML/CSS and JavaScript are likely places to start. Prospective students should also know how to use code editing applications and test and debug code.

Almost all mobile application development languages are free and open source, so participants won’t have to pay a fee to work on their projects. Similarly, even proprietary code editors like Xcode are free to use. All major app stores require users to pay a yearly fee and register to have their apps visible for download. These fees vary depending on the platform but can range from 20 to 100 dollars. In addition, while not a direct cost, app stores will take a cut of the profits from sales, so programs working on their applications will want to consider that.

Read about how difficult it is to learn mobile development.

Watch a Free Mobile Development Online Course

Potential students who aren’t ready to jump into a complete mobile development course may consider looking at some free training options. Since mobile development languages are advanced programming skills, the most common kind of free training resource that students will benefit from is a more generalized web development programming tutorial. Interested individuals can take advantage of Noble Desktop’s Intro to front end Web Development seminar to learn the basic coding principles of HTML/CSS and JavaScript. This seminar can help participants decide whether or not they want to continue with an advanced programming education. Once students have decided to continue, they may wish to take advantage of the course offerings available on Noble’s official YouTube page on their Web Development playlist.

Noble also offers an Intro to React seminar, which covers the basics of using JavaScript’s React library for front end development. While this seminar isn’t focused on mobile development, it does cover how React Native, Meta’s open-source software framework, can be utilized to develop applications for Android and iOS devices.

Curious individuals may also explore the free training seminars available through service providers such as Udemy and Coursera. On top of these options, since most major mobile applications are developed for iOS and Android, both Apple and Google offer tutorials on using the proprietary languages and code editors used for developing applications on their platforms.

Learn Mobile Development with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Students looking to learn mobile development skills will need a decent amount of focused training. They will need to learn programming basics, web development programming languages, and specific programming languages built for mobile operating systems like iOS and Android. However, no matter your level of experience, Noble Desktop has a mobile development course that fits your needs. Whether you are an experienced programmer or you need to learn HTML/CSS, Noble Desktop offers individual bootcamps and career development classes that can help you on your way to becoming a skilled Mobile Developer. Experienced instructors teach Noble’s classes, bringing expert-level web and mobile development knowledge. Learners can take Noble’s classes in-person at Noble’s Manhattan campus or online in private digital classrooms. Even online, class sizes are kept small so that students aren’t competing with each other for their instructor’s attention. Plus, anyone enrolling in a Noble training course will have an opportunity to retake the class, for free, at any point within a calendar year, giving prospective students peace of mind. It allows beginners even more chances to get hands-on mobile development skills.

Individuals with prior coding experience may wish to enroll in Noble’s iOS App Development Bootcamp. This class will teach members how to work with Apple’s Xcode code editing program and their Swift programming language to build optimized applications on mobile iOS devices. Students will learn how to build interactive swipe and touch screen elements and how to add assets to the application, its launch screen, and its presence on the App store. By the end of the class, individuals will develop and post their applications to the App store. They will also understand how the mobile development process works from start to finish (people should be aware that posting applications to the app store require a paid Apple account, which every participant will be required to sign-up for to complete the course).

Those with less coding experience but still want to learn the necessary skills to work as mobile developers will want to consider enrolling in Noble’s Full Stack Development Certificate program. This program doesn’t focus specifically on mobile development. Future coders wishing to specialize in that field may need additional training, but learning full stack development skills is integral to becoming a successful and well-rounded developer. In this class, students will learn how to code web pages in HTML/CSS and JavaScript, languages that mobile developers use to build non-proprietary versions of their applications. In addition, students will learn essential JavaScript libraries and how to develop and maintain the infrastructure upon which applications operate. This career-focused course provides participants professional development training, including one-on-one career mentorship and portfolio development workshops. Pair this training seminar with Noble’s iOS Development Bootcamp for further specialization in mobile development.

Key Insights

• Mobile development skills can take quite a long time to learn, particularly for beginners who lack a computer programming background.
• Mobile development can take months or even years to learn, especially for students coming to the process without a significant amount of prior programming experience.
• Learners will also find that it takes longer to learn mobile development if they wish to develop for both major mobile operating systems since the two are different.
• One way to speed up the training process is by enrolling in one of Noble Desktop’s comprehensive web development courses. These classes are available both in-person and through live online instruction.