Build the software people carry in their pocket, ship it to an app store, then keep fixing it on devices you have never held.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Median
$135,980
Junior
$82,460
Top tenth
$214,670
The national median is $135,980 a year, and the bottom tenth start near $82,460. The federal wage survey has no separate title for mobile work, so these are the figures for Software Developers as a whole. Mobile pay sits in the same band as other software roles at the same company.
About $85,000 to $110,000
First job as a junior developer
Pay varies enormously by employer more than by skill. A large technology company in Seattle or the Bay Area can pay a new graduate double what an agency in a small city pays, and remote roles usually land somewhere in between.
$200,000 and up
Senior engineers at large technology companies
At that level a big part of the package is company stock that vests over several years, which is real money but not guaranteed money. Contract and freelance developers bill by the day instead, and carry their own benefits.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
Learning to build apps costs almost nothing, because the tools are free and a free Apple developer account runs your own app on your own iPhone, so the low end is only the publishing fees: $99 a year for the Apple Developer Program and a one time $25 for a Google Play developer account. The high end is a four year computer science degree at a public university at in-state rates of $11,000 to $18,000 a year. A coding bootcamp sits in the middle at $10,000 to $20,000 for three to six months, and quality varies wildly. The self-taught door is real but harder to walk through, because without a degree or a referral you are competing on a portfolio that has to be good enough to skip the first filter.
Learning to build apps costs almost nothing. A free Apple developer account lets you write an app and run it on your own iPhone, and Android tools are free. You only start paying when you want to publish. If you do take the degree route, fill in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Salary plus stock
Standard at technology companies. The stock portion can be large and takes years to vest.
Remote work
One of the few well paid careers where fully remote jobs are genuinely common.
Contract rates
Experienced mobile contractors bill by the day, often well above a salaried rate, with no benefits attached.
Your own apps
Anyone can publish. The stores take a share of what you earn, commonly 15 to 30 percent depending on the program and your revenue.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
Nobody checks your diploma once you have shipped something. Getting the first job is the hard part, and a portfolio is what does it.
High school
Grades 10 to 12
Any computer course, plus math. Start building now: a free Apple developer account or Android Studio and a laptop is the whole setup.
Pick a platform and learn it properly
6 to 12 months
Swift for iPhone, Kotlin for Android, or a cross-platform tool like React Native or Flutter. Learn one deeply before you spread out.
Degree, bootcamp or self-taught
0 to 4 years
A four year computer science degree opens the most doors and is still the safest route. Bootcamps are faster and riskier. Self-taught works but you have to be relentless about it.
Ship real apps
Alongside everything else
Two or three finished apps in a store, with real users and real reviews, beat any certificate. Contribute to an open source project too.
Internship, then first job
3 to 12 months of applying
Internships are how most large employers hire. Expect technical interviews with live coding problems, and practice those specifically.
Computer science
The Advanced Placement course counts for college credit at many universities.
Math
Not because apps are full of calculus, but because degree admissions and the logic both need it.
Art or design
Mobile work is judged on how it feels. Developers who understand layout and typography get better jobs.
English
You will write documentation, tickets and explanations of your decisions every week.
There is no license, no registration and no protected title. You can publish an app to Google Play with a one-time $25 fee, or to Apple's App Store with a $99 yearly membership, and be live in front of millions of people without anyone's permission. The gatekeeping happens elsewhere. App stores review what you submit and reject things that break their rules, and employers gatekeep through technical interviews rather than credentials.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Both platforms
Developers who can ship a good iPhone app and a good Android app are rarer than you would think, and cost more.
Backend work
Most apps are a thin layer over a server. Knowing how to build the API (application programming interface) behind your app doubles what you can be handed.
Performance and battery work
Making a slow app fast on a cheap phone is a specific, valued skill.
Accessibility
Screen reader support and proper contrast are legally required for many clients and rarely done well.
A published app with real users
The single most persuasive thing on a junior application.
Version control and teamwork
Git is not optional. Neither is being able to read somebody else's code without complaining about it.
UI (user interface) design basics
Even a rough sense of spacing and hierarchy makes your work look professional.
Interview practice
Technical interviews test a narrow skill that has little to do with the job. Practice it anyway, because it is the door.
Publishing your own app is the cheapest business anyone can start: $25 once for Android, $99 a year for Apple, and a laptop. Apple's testing service lets you invite up to 10,000 outside testers before you launch. The hard truth is that almost all apps earn nothing, and the ones that earn are usually marketing successes more than engineering ones. Treat it as a portfolio and a lottery ticket, not a plan.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
A short team stand-up, then a few hours of actual coding on a feature or a bug. Review somebody else's code, get yours reviewed. Test on a handful of devices and screen sizes, because what looks right on your phone will be broken on a three year old Android. Afternoons often go to meetings with designers and product people about what to build next. Before a release there is a crunch of testing and store submission, and after a release there is whatever crashed.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
A Google Play developer account is a one-time $25 registration fee. The Apple Developer Program is $99 a year, every year, and your apps come down if you stop paying.
A free Apple developer account gets you the tools and lets you install your own app on your own devices. You only need the paid membership when you want other people to download it from the store.
Apple's TestFlight service lets a developer invite up to 10,000 external testers to try a build before it launches. It is how most apps find the bugs that only appear on other people's phones.
Selling an app or a subscription means the platform keeps a share, commonly 15 to 30 percent depending on the program and how much you earn. It is the single biggest line item for anyone trying to live off their own app.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in United States dollars, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data and published pay scales. They vary by state, employer and experience. Tuition is for in-state students at public schools unless the card says otherwise.