Android Developer

One million computer programming jobs are estimated to be created in the U.S. by 2020 - as well as 700,000 in Europe - thanks to unprecedented growth in the tech sector.

Here at OpenClassrooms, we pinpoint the key skills needed for the most in-demand jobs and develop courses and diplomas to train our students in those areas. That’s why we've developed a one-year bachelor’s-level diploma in development, which you can complete entirely online with the help of a dedicated mentor. 

In this path, you'll study Android development. Android developers build mobile applications on the most widely-used mobile platform in the world. You guessed it: Android! They build apps that run on both smartphones and tablets and can even run on Android smartphones or TVs.

Android is a mobile operating system created by Google. You may also have heard of its main competitor: iOS, which is made by Apple. Android is similar in terms of functionality but looks different and runs on different types of phones. 

An Android developer: 

• Builds mobile applications on the Android operating system
• Writes clean, well-structured code
• Writes unit and integration tests for their code
• Takes project briefs from clients and builds apps based on those needs 
• And more!

How much will I earn?

Android developers, whether they work in Java or Kotlin, can be well-paid because the industry lacks specialized developers in this field.

As an Android developer, you'll be able to earn:

United States

• Beginner: $60,000 - $80,000
• More experienced: $80,000 - $120,000+
• Freelance: $30 - $150/hour

United Kingdom

• Beginner: £35,000 - £45,000
• More experienced: £45,000 - £60,000+
• Freelance: £20 - £130/hour

What are my job prospects?

Android developers are actively recruited by every kind of company, from startups to big companies. Google products are widely used in almost every industry, and no company that ventures into web or mobile services would be able to do so fully without building Android applications, as Android is the most widely-used mobile platform in the world. 

Find Android development job offers on Indeed.

Who is eligible to enroll?

To be eligible to earn this path's diploma, candidates must demonstrate proof of one of the following prerequisites:

• an associate's degree, or equivalent, in computer science, web development, or software development
• or a high school/secondary school degree, vocational certificate, or equivalent, and at least 2 years of professional experience in IT, web development, or software development

All other candidates will need to go through a specific admissions process. These candidates must have:

• an associate's degree, or equivalent, in any subject and at least 1 year of professional experience in any field
• or a high school/secondary school degree, vocational certificate, or equivalent in any subject and 3 years of professional experience in any field
• and a completed placement test consisting of:
  • OpenClassrooms course completion certificates from Build Your First Web Pages With HTML and CSS, Think like a computer: the logic of programming, and Manage Your Code Project With Git & Github
  • a personal programming project, accompanied by a 10-minute recorded video that explains the project itself and the code behind it

• Language: You will need to provide a certificate not older than 2 years to demonstrate a minimum level of English B2.

  Certificates accepted:

  • English Diploma from a secondary institution (private or public) or an accredited higher learning institution
  • Linguaskill minimum score: 160
  • BULATS minimum score: 60
  • TOEIC minimum score: 785
  • IELTS minimum score: 6.5
  • TOEFL iBT minimum score: 88
  • Cambridge FCE / CAE / BEC HIGHER / BEC VANTAGE minimum score or grade: B or 160
  • Certificate from a language center demonstrating a minimum level of B2 (including the number of training hours completed and the company signature or stamp)

  Don’t have one of these certificates? Find out where to take an exam.

• Equipment: Candidates must also have access to a computer (PC or Mac), headphones, a microphone, a webcam, and a good internet connection for mentoring sessions (3.2 Mbps upload and 1.8 Mbps for download). In addition, to master the skills on this path, you will need to:
  • Have at least 8 GB of RAM (16 GB is more comfortable) and 100 GB of storage space available on your computer.
  • Have administrator rights to your computer in order to install required programs.

What will I learn?

• Create Android applications based on Java and the development environment Android Studio
• Communicate with a database to store and retrieve information
• Write unit and integration tests, as well as interface tests
• Produce technical and functional documentation of an application
• Use a network to retrieve information
• Understand and apply Design Patterns to ensure application stability
• Analyze a project brief and choose a technical solution 
• Create technical architecture using UML diagrams
• Respect Material Design recommendations in order to provide the best user experience possible

How will I learn at OpenClassrooms?

Our learning method is unique and revolves around two elements: professional projects and dedicated mentoring sessions.

Projects
 At OpenClassrooms, learning is project-driven because that’s the fastest way to become proficient. Projects offer hands-on experience so you can hit the ground running when you start your new job.  

Want to see an example of a project? Read our blog post here.

Mentorship
During your path, you will be assigned a mentor who will offer one-to-one support via weekly video conference sessions. This mentor will offer guidance on your projects, help define objectives and guide you until you reach them. Our mentors are dedicated professionals who are experts in their field and have experience in sharing their know-how with our students.