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Is It Worth Going To University To Become An App Developer?

The recent bans on Chinese apps is creating a boom on Indian based apps. Downloads are increasing at such a high rate that some of the apps servers are getting overloaded. And now that it is legal to buy BTC online India, there is a big need for developers to create decentralized apps on the blockchain.

Which is great news if you are planning on becoming a mobile app developer. Which then raises the question: Is it worth it to go to university to become an app developer?

There is something to be said for experience over book learning. Especially when it comes to programming. You can either create good, bug free code or you can’t. And that doesn’t always depend on your higher education.

In this article, I will go over some things to keep in mind when starting out as a developer.

Do an evaluation

You may be very good at coding and love to do it, but to make a living you have to have a certain way of doing things. Which means that you have to know exactly how good you are and how likely people are to see your talent.

The best way to do this is to do some projects on open source platforms. For instance, you could do some coding on a project listed on github and have people there evaluate your code. If they think it works and is actually helpful to move the project forward then it means you have some good coding skills.

If this doesn’t happen it means that you need to work on your talent and practice more. Use this as a time to reflect.

If you fall into the latter case, then you may want to go to university as you have a long way to go and lots to learn before you can say that you are a good coder. Projects that are getting good feedback means you have a solid foundation to build on and may be better off gaining experience on projects that can showcase your talent.

Try to network

Who you know is almost as important as what you know, so reach out and try to become part of a coding community.

This is where university is very helpful. You will have a ready made network of your peers plus people in positions that can help you in a career post graduation. Professors will help you along and make sure that you are positioning yourself well to advance.

If you are going it alone, then finding some meetups to network with other coders who are in the trenches already working on app development will be ideal.

Pick a specialization

Different types of apps will use different languages. And some will need to draw from databases which involves another level of knowledge. Understanding which area you want to focus on will help you decide if you should go to university or not.

If you just like learning the languages used on certain applications then you can probably be fine without a degree. If you need to dive deeper into the way algorithms work, then that requires more theoretical learning in which a university education is the best way to get it.

About Anirudh Singh

Anirudh Singh is a passionate blogger and the man behind Amazing India Blog. He has 5 years of experience in the newspaper industry and he founded Amazing India Blog in 2015. Apart from writing and editing articles on Travel, Business and Technology at Amazing India Blog, he also contributes to other well known newspapers and online news blogs.