Beginners often ask the question: “What do you need to know to become a developer?” There are a lot of incomprehensible words in the vacancies. There is so much information in books that it seems you should have started studying it from childhood. In addition to all this, the period now in Android development is such that you need to know two languages: Java and Kotlin. I’ll try to make a roadmap for a beginner: what exactly do you need to know in order to get your first job. So, the first and most important thing is Java Core. Yes, it's better to start now with Java. In my opinion, JavaRush is the best way to do this. There is no need to be distracted by anything until you have completely completed the basics. At the same time, it will be a big plus if you find a mentor who can give advice and information. Then you can try the Android SDK. First, you need to figure out how to use TextView, EditText, Layouts (Frame, Linear, Relative), ImageView, Button. After them, go to RecyclerView. At this stage, practice is everything. You need to try it all, see how it works, what the characteristics of these components are, how they differ. Then you can go deeper and understand Activity and Fragments. Life cycle, launch. Also transferring data between two Activities (Intent) and two Fragments (Bundle). At this point, you are ready to make something a little more complex than a calculator. You need to write a small project that consists of several screens. The main thing is to use more components to understand how they interact with each other. And again, it will be a big plus if someone sees your code and can give you some advice. Here you can already try Kotlin. In addition, interaction with the REST API must be added to the project. The Retrofit library is used for this. There are a lot of manuals on it. There are also a lot of open APIs, there is a lot to train on (for example, Instagram, Facebook and many others). The result should be downloading data from the server and displaying it on the screen. The Glide library (or, as an alternative, Picasso) will also come in handy here. That's all from the main point. Next, it’s worth understanding development patterns. In Android, Google promotes MVVM, so try it. Also find out what Clean Architecture is. And to top it off - Dependency Injection. At the same time, you can try to go for interviews. On all points, the Internet is full of articles and examples. When studying, it is still more important to understand how and why it works, rather than memorizing the names. It is also important to be able to use debugging to detect errors. And this is only possible with a lot of practice. In my opinion, this process can be completed in six months. But this is only if you devote enough time to learning. All that remains is to ask for patience.
So, the first and most important thing is Java Core. Yes, it's better to start now with Java. In my opinion, JavaRush is the best way to do this. There is no need to be distracted by anything until you have completely completed the basics. At the same time, it will be a big plus if you find a mentor who can give advice and information. Then you can try the Android SDK. First, you need to figure out how to use TextView, EditText, Layouts (Frame, Linear, Relative), ImageView, Button. After them, go to RecyclerView. At this stage, practice is everything. You need to try it all, see how it works, what the characteristics of these components are, how they differ. Then you can go deeper and understand Activity and Fragments. Life cycle, launch. Also transferring data between two Activities (Intent) and two Fragments (Bundle). At this point, you are ready to make something a little more complex than a calculator. You need to write a small project that consists of several screens. The main thing is to use more components to understand how they interact with each other. And again, it will be a big plus if someone sees your code and can give you some advice. Here you can already try Kotlin. In addition, interaction with the REST API must be added to the project. The Retrofit library is used for this. There are a lot of manuals on it. There are also a lot of open APIs, there is a lot to train on (for example, Instagram, Facebook and many others). The result should be downloading data from the server and displaying it on the screen. The Glide library (or, as an alternative, Picasso) will also come in handy here. That's all from the main point. Next, it’s worth understanding development patterns. In Android, Google promotes MVVM, so try it. Also find out what Clean Architecture is. And to top it off - Dependency Injection. At the same time, you can try to go for interviews. On all points, the Internet is full of articles and examples. When studying, it is still more important to understand how and why it works, rather than memorizing the names. It is also important to be able to use debugging to detect errors. And this is only possible with a lot of practice. In my opinion, this process can be completed in six months. But this is only if you devote enough time to learning. All that remains is to ask for patience.
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