September 7, 2011 at 8:47 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Learning for Profit
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September 8, 2011 at 7:57 am
Thank you Steve, the link you shared was really informative.
M&M
September 8, 2011 at 8:08 am
You are welcome, and would love to hear if any developers or DBAs go down the route of creating their own apps.
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September 8, 2011 at 9:04 am
Great article! And certainly agree with everything said. I recently stepped out and created my first Android application. It is called Fellow Traveler, and is an app dedicated for people going through emotional recovery. I did the coding, and my wife wrote the content. Probably spent about 120 hours in total development - much of which was spent in learning how to program for the Android in the first place! It was a great learning experience, and served as a springboard for at least one other mobile project so far.
Thanks,
Chris
p.s. Here's the app: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.cvaldivia93.fellowtraveler
September 8, 2011 at 9:05 am
Seems to me that writing a successful mobile application proves that s/he read the market correctly and figured out what is needed. That IMO qualifies him (or seldom her) more for a marketing job than for a developer job.
Or is it about slick UX?
September 8, 2011 at 9:08 am
Revenant (9/8/2011)
Seems to me that writing a successful mobile application proves that s/he read the market correctly and figured out what is needed. That IMO qualifies him (or seldom her) more for a marketing job than for a developer job.Or is it about slick UX?
I'm not speaking from personal experience, yet, but I get the feeling that successful mobile developers are people who are a mixture of developer, designer, marketing and have a feeling for what's needed by others.
Kindest Regards, Rod Connect with me on LinkedIn.
September 8, 2011 at 8:16 pm
I did exactly that after 9/11.
I had been making between $75-85 an hour as an independent Access developer before the dot.com crash; followed closely by 9/11.
I had been doing this for approximately four (4) years without even having to show my resume. I had been active in various Access user groups and got gigs based on reputation alone; no headhunters Corp-to-Corp.
After 9/11, it all dried up.
I couldn't just sit around...
I had an idea. It was called VinBuster.
What it would do is to decode VIN's (Vehicle Identification Numbers) and return as much information that could be derived from the VIN's. Subsequently, after manually adding the info that the VIN did not return, it would give you the N.A.D.A. value of the car.
The project stalled when the application was 90-95%% complete. I need capital to license the N.A.D.A data (Heretofore,I had manually entered it from the little yellow book; after all I had time on my hands). I also needed capital to market the product. At that time, I did not have a pot to piss in and barely a window to throw it out. So I pissed outside most of the time.:-). I even took a gig at Wal-Mart for 8 days, not doing software, stocking shelves.
However during the process of developing VINBuster, I developed the following skills:
o SQL Server
o C#.net
o Mobile Development
I eventually attained a contract with an HMO doing Access and SQL Server that paid the ridiculously low rate of USD 25/hr. They took me on full time where I did Oracle to SQL Server ETL using DTS.
I got an offer to be a Mobile Development Architect for a previous start-up that had been taken over by a larger corporation for real good money. Alas, it was a sinking ship and I promptly got laid off because my salary was so high.
After a brief period of inactivity, I was hired by a small firm that did Real Estate Research to do SQL Server ETL using SSIS. Then came the most recent recession. Unfortunately, I was in the real estate sector and laid off again.
During this inactive period, I honed my skills in SSAS and Service Broker. I have not been paid to use either of these skills, but they are firmly entrenched in my toolbox.
I eventually took a contract position to be the interim QA Manager while the incumbent was busy having a baby. During the interim, the ETL guy resigned. So, I was then the interim QA Manager as well as the interim ETL Manager... The QA Manager returned and I was eventually hired as the full-time ETL Manager.
I hate my job and barely have a ptpi or a wttio, and for various reasons am not in a position to move. However, when I can move I do have a lot of tools in the toolbox; more than what were mentioned here.
Sorry for the long blog. In retrospect, it seems that it or I did not get anywhere. I am worse off than I was when I was freelancing Access. But there are other factors that contribute to that.
Questions? Comments?
Thank you for reading if you got this far,
Dan
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