Android App Developer Roadmap Curated by the Programming Community

What you'll learn

Java programming language
Kotlin programming language
Using Android Studio
How to develop Android applications using Java or Kotlin
Android Material Design

overview

Android is one of the most widely used mobile platforms today with over 2 billion monthly active users and millions of apps on the Play Store. Android accounts for over 85% of the total mobile traffic on websites.

As an Android developer, you will have a chance to cater to this huge audience by creating mobile apps/games. You can work as an indie developer and publish your own apps or work for one of the existing publishers. There is no shortage of opportunities!

Java Programming Language

Ready to get started? The Android developers at Hackr recommend starting with Java. Our community curated the following resources to help others get started. We found books, YouTube videos, and courses on the subject. Find one that suits your learning style to learn the language.

Head First Java (amazon)

Java Video Tutorial by Derek Banas (youtube.com)

Become a Java Web Developer (udacity.com)

featured

Java Programming Masterclass for Software Developers (udemy.com)

Resource

Coding Exercises

Kotlin Programming Language

Kotlin docs are neatly organized and a useful resource for beginners, but our community recognizes that many learners prefer practical applications as a way to quickly pick up new skills. In that case, check out a BootCamp or course on the subject. The Android developers at Hackr recommend the following resources.

Kotlin Tutorial (official docs) (kotlinlang.org)

Resource

Kotlin vs. Java

Android Development

More general Android development courses will give you a deeper dive into platform-specific applications. Our community found a bunch of robust tutorials worth checking out. We love to see resources from Stanford, Google, and Android listed here. Check them out to find which will best serve your style of learning.

Android App Development by Stanford (web.stanford.edu)

Android Development for Beginners (udacity.com)

The Complete Android Oreo Developer Course - Build 23 Apps (udemy.com)

Resource

Open Source Apps

Marketing Your App

If you're familiar with the American classic Field of Dreams, you'll know the expression, "If you build it, they will come." Unfortunately, that's not the case for mobile apps. Build it, then market it. Then, they'll come. Here are a few of our favorite resources on digital marketing to get you started.

Google Digital Marketing & E-commerce Professional Certificate (imp.i384100.net)

Social Media Marketing Specialization from Northwestern (imp.i384100.net)

How to follow this roadmap?

If you want to take one course that teaches you everything you need to publish your first app, skip to the ‘All In One’ section.
Start with learning Java. Most projects and tutorials you will find on the web will be using Java.
You can choose to learn Kotlin or skip this section. Kotlin is interoperable with Java, so it won’t hurt to experiment with it. Check out ‘Java vs Kotlin’ to see the advantages of Kotlin. Note: Kotlin became the official language for Android in 2017.
Now that you know the language, you can start with Android development. Both tutorials in ‘Android Development’ section require familiarity with Java. Post completion, you can check out some open source apps and try to implement on your own.
If you are using Android Studio as your development environment, you can refer the ‘Android Studio’ section in case you get stuck or want to explore.
‘Material Design’ section is optional. You can come back to this section once you are comfortable writing apps or skip it entirely.

Discuss this roadmap:

Ask a question or write your feedback/review of this roadmap or tell anything to the people considering this roadmap.

Abhishek Singh

14 points

3 years ago

@chinmaya-kumar-behera: any laptop will work,
but I will recommend a min 4core processor whether its i5 or i7 or i9 it's completely your choice, a min of 8gb ram(go for at least 16 gb for super smooth experience), graphic card if you want to use emulator, and go for a ssd it will faster your gradle built but you can chose hdd if its not in your budget.

Chinmaya Kumar Behera

20 points

3 years ago

Can someone let me know the specifications of a laptop/pc which will be ideal for android development. Thanks.

Abhishek Singh

14 Points

Dummy2

16 points

4 years ago

@dummy-1 dgsdgsd

Hector

22 points

4 years ago

It looks like a decent roadmap!