A startup entrepreneur walked into our graduation open house last Thursday and told me he was prepared to hire two or more developers from our graduating class—he hadn’t met any of them yet—and that they would continue to build their skills on the job under the leadership of a senior developer. Another company rep at the event said they have a growth plan in place for apprentice iOS developers, so they can rapidly move up to the junior level.
These businesses are leading a trend the rest of the mobile app community is just waking up to: The need to identify new iOS developers who are positioned to get up to speed quickly and contribute on team projects.
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A student demos her team's app at Meet the Makers
As the person who manages career services at Mobile Makers Academy, I see a lot of job listings that require five or more years of experience developing apps for the iPhone and iPad, even though the iPhone only hit the market seven years ago. I wish those recruiters luck with their searches, because there just aren’t that many very senior developers in the market. In fact, that's why Mobile Makers Academy was formed—to help meet the demand for talented coders. The good news? Every senior developer out there started at the same point our grads do: with the ability to find solutions to new challenges.
There are plenty of ways someone can learn Objective-C and Xcode, but the hiring managers who attended our open house recognize that our unique teaching methods put Mobile Makers graduates way ahead of the pack, ensuring a level of quality among developers who have had exposure to all facets of iOS development. As evidence of that quality, one alum who graduated just six months ago flew in for the open house to recruit more Makers for the company he had joined.
We don’t claim that our newest graduates are able to step into senior developer roles right out of the gate. But they are able to provide value to a team immediately. They are junior-level developers who are primed for success. Does the marketplace need more senior developers? Absolutely. And with the right environment, our Makers are going to be on a fast track to fill those roles.
That’s because we emphasize the skill of learning how to find solutions rather than rote practice, so there’s really nothing that our graduates can’t do given the time and resources to address the challenge. They’ve already built about 30 small apps and have taken one all the way to the App Store by the time they complete the 8-week program.
When employers understand the value of bringing on a new Mobile Maker who will advance rapidly in their organization, I know they are set up for success. They recognize that a great work environment and the flexibility to reward employees with accelerated growth options will mean that, in the space of several months or a year, they’ll have a team of junior and senior iOS developers building their apps, while their competitors are still looking for something that just doesn’t exist.
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Mobile Makers Academy has been preparing coders for jobs in iOS development since 2012, and we have alumni around the world. If you have a job listing for an iOS developer, learn more about us and submit your job description. Mobile Makers never charges employers a fee to connect them to our awesome alumni.
Read about the apps created by developers in our latest iOS Bootcamp, with links to download their apps for free, and see photos from our Meet the Makers open house.
Don't miss out! Our next Meet the Makers graduation open house is on Thursday, July 3, 2014. Register now to guarantee your chance to meet our newest grads and see their app showcase.
