5 ms·

From Non-Technical Junior High Teacher to iOS Developer

48 points by calebhicks 12y ago

therogerwilco 12y ago
Boy that title just screams quality coder. :|
austenallred 12y ago
I know the point of this post is to show how a non-technical person learned to code enough to build iphone apps in 12 weeks, but I'm really, really excited about "Wired In." Well done.
- calebhicks 12y ago
  Thanks Austen. I'm excited to be working on it.
- jkhowland 12y ago
  I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
cahlansharp 12y ago
Caleb did a great job in the iOS class. Super impressed with what he's built and how far he's come.
Dewie 12y ago
"non-technical".
- calebhicks 12y ago
  I think I addressed this in the post itself. >So to say I’m entirely non-technical may be unfair. It just depends on the context. Neighborhood barbecue? Technical. Startup Weekend? Non-technical. Where does the HN crowd fit on that spectrum? My guess is most people here would still consider me non-technical, even with what I've built so far.
  - sosuke 12y ago
    I think you over estimate what HN expects from you to be technical. You're technical now, no question about it.
tannerc 12y ago
Edit: being down voted because of an opinion? Hey, I want to middle school with Caleb! On a more related note: It's exciting to see others realize how simple and painless Apple has made iOS dev. It still takes logical chops and a keen eye to make something worthwhile, but the bridge between non-developer and developer is getting shorter and shorter. The new iOS 8 kits will shorten that gap even more. Still, as a developer myself with some successful projects behind me, I'm a student of thought that the marketplace is becoming so saturated it will only be very high-caliber apps that survive. Or, I guess, developers who can stick out the rough times as well as the good ones. How new developers fit into that landscape is still uncertain. As I haven't done any Android development, can anyone shed light on how similar the two processes are (iOS dev vs. Android)?
- pseudometa 12y ago
  It's really awesome how many people are able to pick up the tools to learn app development. The fact that people of all ages can have an idea and easily pick up the tools to build it is astonishing given the state cell phones were in just 8 years ago. While Apple has built such easy to use tools that anyone can build apps, the app store has been turning into a quagmire of crap. I really hope the structure of App stores go through a dramatic change soon.
- mgkimsal 12y ago
  "I'm a student of thought that the marketplace is becoming so saturated it will only be very high-caliber apps that survive" I may be bucking the 'everything will be mobile first/mobile only' mindset, but I see the 'successful' apps as those that fit in a larger ecosystem of functionality. For many users, the primary/only point of contact with a system may be the mobile app, but there will be other endpoints of the system with more traditional web interfaces or even other endpoints which will provide other value to other parties. Yes, the instagrams and yo and such are 'successful', but ultimately, they tend to prove the exception to the rule, I think. Outside of gaming, I'd expect most apps to have other functionality that can be processed and accessed with in other ways beyond solely a mobile interface. To that end, the mobile app experience doesn't necessarily have to be 'high-caliber' over and above all the other competition, as long as the rest of the supporting functionality provides enough value. I may entirely wrong though...
generatestring 12y ago
After reading those recent financial/earnings from iOS game developers on HN, I'd be very wary of dropping 4,500$ for a 12 week course.
- austenallred 12y ago
  Being an indie game developer is very different from being a contract iOS developer. I can't imagine a full-time iOS developer being paid less than a Jr. High teacher + $4,500. I'm looking for one now, albeit with a little more experience than Caleb, and could very well end up paying six figures (in Utah).
  - jkhowland 12y ago
    Exactly. THAT is a door opened to you once you learn to write iOS applications.
- jkhowland 12y ago
  It's crazy to me to think that a passive $45,000 from an iOS app isn't a reason to invest $4500 on a 12 week course. But whatever you say. Also, a senior iOS developer can make anywhere from $90-150k in even a low paying market like Utah. I don't even know what the market is in places like New York and California. Needless to say, what you get for your $4500 is a lot more than just indie game revenue. It's a life changing experience to learn to write iOS apps.
- calebhicks 12y ago
  I read all of those same posts. Definitely concerning news for indie developers. But the reality is that even junior developers are making very good money working contract or full-time. $4500 is less than a semester of required classes at University. And it was a good way to dive in.
- potatolicious 12y ago
  Mobile development is alive and well, it's just that the real successes are frontends to some service (see: Facebook, Grubhub, Uber, etc). Directly monetizing from app sales is mostly dead. The demand for iOS devs right now is intense. A senior-level iOS dev can command ~$200K or more in the NYC area right now, I imagine the Bay Area to be similar. Writing an app and selling it on the app store for ${LUDICROUS_SUM} has been a myth for a long time now, but you can still make your $4500 back very, very easily.
jkhowland 12y ago
I'm a full time iOS dev that taught myself. I spent a ton of time working through my struggles via StackOverflow and piece working online tutorials. Very cool to see what you were able to build in only 12 weeks. Why did you choose this, instead of learning yourself. Didn't you still have to do all the work to learn even with the program?
- calebhicks 12y ago
  Of course. No one's going to learn a thing by just showing up and listening to an instructor. Whether that's an iOS Dev Bootcamp or Physiology. I put in hundreds of hours beyond regular class time. And yes, definitely working through struggles on StackOverflow and online tutorials. I chose this because, for me, it's a lot easier to sit back and watch TV or play around without the financial, time, and personal commitment of signing up for a class. I had somewhere to be. My wife and kids knew I had somewhere to be. So it was a full family commitment that made it work.
trich7 12y ago
DevMountain has produced some great talent from what I've seen.
nedwin 12y ago
Are you planning on moving out of teaching into development?
- calebhicks 12y ago
  Great question. I really love what I do at the junior high. I teach business and teen entrepreneurship. I love going into work in the morning. But I loved my experience this summer. I love the thrill of writing, building, and seeing my code work. The creator's high. My current plan is to take a year off from teaching next year and pursue an entry-level development job with a good local company. I'm only 27, so while I'm not sure development is the full-time career path I want to take, I definitely want to try it out. In the end, it will boil down to whether I enjoy waking up and going to work as much as I do now.
infra178 12y ago
Does anybody have a recommendation of a good way to learn the same material for someone who's motivated but unemployed and dead broke?
- rrrrrraul 12y ago
  Hey, I've been learning iOS dev on my own since the beginning of the year, try these: -Stanford's Developing iOS Apps Course (free on iTunes U) -developer.apple.com (unpaid account), gives you access to plenty of code examples to learn from and programming guides -check out raywenderlich.com, objc.io, nshipster.com to name a few -stackoverflow -youtube(!) -and if you can gather a few bucks, I'd recommend Big Nerd Ranch guide for Objective-C and the iOS programming version too -IRC Good luck! Edit: formatting
  - infra178 12y ago
    Great list! Thanks!
  - calebhicks 12y ago
    The Big Nerd Ranch books are fantastic. Definitely check them out. I know they'll get something out for Swift sometime soon, but the iOS programming one would be a great foundation even with Objective-C as the sample code. Some of the bootcamps will do financing. I'm against financing things that depreciate, but if you can get a decent job out of, it's not a terrible option.
bjones53 12y ago
Thank you for addressing the value of individualized learning and for assessing your experience based on the knowledge you acquired as opposed to your employability. For every person that learns something on their own, there are many more that pay for courses, tutors, and even private coaching, due to some of the reasons you mentioned. I don't understand why programming is any different.

48 points by calebhicks 12y ago

Boy that title just screams quality coder. :|

I know the point of this post is to show how a non-technical person learned to code enough to build iphone apps in 12 weeks, but I'm really, really excited about "Wired In." Well done.

calebhicks 12y ago
Thanks Austen. I'm excited to be working on it.
jkhowland 12y ago
I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

cahlansharp 12y ago

Caleb did a great job in the iOS class. Super impressed with what he's built and how far he's come.

Dewie 12y ago

"non-technical".

calebhicks 12y ago
I think I addressed this in the post itself. >So to say I’m entirely non-technical may be unfair. It just depends on the context. Neighborhood barbecue? Technical. Startup Weekend? Non-technical. Where does the HN crowd fit on that spectrum? My guess is most people here would still consider me non-technical, even with what I've built so far.
- sosuke 12y ago
  I think you over estimate what HN expects from you to be technical. You're technical now, no question about it.

tannerc 12y ago

Edit: being down voted because of an opinion? Hey, I want to middle school with Caleb! On a more related note: It's exciting to see others realize how simple and painless Apple has made iOS dev. It still takes logical chops and a keen eye to make something worthwhile, but the bridge between non-developer and developer is getting shorter and shorter. The new iOS 8 kits will shorten that gap even more. Still, as a developer myself with some successful projects behind me, I'm a student of thought that the marketplace is becoming so saturated it will only be very high-caliber apps that survive. Or, I guess, developers who can stick out the rough times as well as the good ones. How new developers fit into that landscape is still uncertain. As I haven't done any Android development, can anyone shed light on how similar the two processes are (iOS dev vs. Android)?

pseudometa 12y ago
It's really awesome how many people are able to pick up the tools to learn app development. The fact that people of all ages can have an idea and easily pick up the tools to build it is astonishing given the state cell phones were in just 8 years ago. While Apple has built such easy to use tools that anyone can build apps, the app store has been turning into a quagmire of crap. I really hope the structure of App stores go through a dramatic change soon.
mgkimsal 12y ago
"I'm a student of thought that the marketplace is becoming so saturated it will only be very high-caliber apps that survive" I may be bucking the 'everything will be mobile first/mobile only' mindset, but I see the 'successful' apps as those that fit in a larger ecosystem of functionality. For many users, the primary/only point of contact with a system may be the mobile app, but there will be other endpoints of the system with more traditional web interfaces or even other endpoints which will provide other value to other parties. Yes, the instagrams and yo and such are 'successful', but ultimately, they tend to prove the exception to the rule, I think. Outside of gaming, I'd expect most apps to have other functionality that can be processed and accessed with in other ways beyond solely a mobile interface. To that end, the mobile app experience doesn't necessarily have to be 'high-caliber' over and above all the other competition, as long as the rest of the supporting functionality provides enough value. I may entirely wrong though...

generatestring 12y ago

After reading those recent financial/earnings from iOS game developers on HN, I'd be very wary of dropping 4,500$ for a 12 week course.

austenallred 12y ago
Being an indie game developer is very different from being a contract iOS developer. I can't imagine a full-time iOS developer being paid less than a Jr. High teacher + $4,500. I'm looking for one now, albeit with a little more experience than Caleb, and could very well end up paying six figures (in Utah).
- jkhowland 12y ago
  Exactly. THAT is a door opened to you once you learn to write iOS applications.
jkhowland 12y ago
It's crazy to me to think that a passive $45,000 from an iOS app isn't a reason to invest $4500 on a 12 week course. But whatever you say. Also, a senior iOS developer can make anywhere from $90-150k in even a low paying market like Utah. I don't even know what the market is in places like New York and California. Needless to say, what you get for your $4500 is a lot more than just indie game revenue. It's a life changing experience to learn to write iOS apps.
calebhicks 12y ago
I read all of those same posts. Definitely concerning news for indie developers. But the reality is that even junior developers are making very good money working contract or full-time. $4500 is less than a semester of required classes at University. And it was a good way to dive in.
potatolicious 12y ago
Mobile development is alive and well, it's just that the real successes are frontends to some service (see: Facebook, Grubhub, Uber, etc). Directly monetizing from app sales is mostly dead. The demand for iOS devs right now is intense. A senior-level iOS dev can command ~$200K or more in the NYC area right now, I imagine the Bay Area to be similar. Writing an app and selling it on the app store for ${LUDICROUS_SUM} has been a myth for a long time now, but you can still make your $4500 back very, very easily.

jkhowland 12y ago

I'm a full time iOS dev that taught myself. I spent a ton of time working through my struggles via StackOverflow and piece working online tutorials. Very cool to see what you were able to build in only 12 weeks. Why did you choose this, instead of learning yourself. Didn't you still have to do all the work to learn even with the program?

calebhicks 12y ago
Of course. No one's going to learn a thing by just showing up and listening to an instructor. Whether that's an iOS Dev Bootcamp or Physiology. I put in hundreds of hours beyond regular class time. And yes, definitely working through struggles on StackOverflow and online tutorials. I chose this because, for me, it's a lot easier to sit back and watch TV or play around without the financial, time, and personal commitment of signing up for a class. I had somewhere to be. My wife and kids knew I had somewhere to be. So it was a full family commitment that made it work.

trich7 12y ago

DevMountain has produced some great talent from what I've seen.

nedwin 12y ago

Are you planning on moving out of teaching into development?

calebhicks 12y ago
Great question. I really love what I do at the junior high. I teach business and teen entrepreneurship. I love going into work in the morning. But I loved my experience this summer. I love the thrill of writing, building, and seeing my code work. The creator's high. My current plan is to take a year off from teaching next year and pursue an entry-level development job with a good local company. I'm only 27, so while I'm not sure development is the full-time career path I want to take, I definitely want to try it out. In the end, it will boil down to whether I enjoy waking up and going to work as much as I do now.

infra178 12y ago

Does anybody have a recommendation of a good way to learn the same material for someone who's motivated but unemployed and dead broke?

rrrrrraul 12y ago
Hey, I've been learning iOS dev on my own since the beginning of the year, try these: -Stanford's Developing iOS Apps Course (free on iTunes U) -developer.apple.com (unpaid account), gives you access to plenty of code examples to learn from and programming guides -check out raywenderlich.com, objc.io, nshipster.com to name a few -stackoverflow -youtube(!) -and if you can gather a few bucks, I'd recommend Big Nerd Ranch guide for Objective-C and the iOS programming version too -IRC Good luck! Edit: formatting
- infra178 12y ago
  Great list! Thanks!
- calebhicks 12y ago
  The Big Nerd Ranch books are fantastic. Definitely check them out. I know they'll get something out for Swift sometime soon, but the iOS programming one would be a great foundation even with Objective-C as the sample code. Some of the bootcamps will do financing. I'm against financing things that depreciate, but if you can get a decent job out of, it's not a terrible option.

bjones53 12y ago

Thank you for addressing the value of individualized learning and for assessing your experience based on the knowledge you acquired as opposed to your employability. For every person that learns something on their own, there are many more that pay for courses, tutors, and even private coaching, due to some of the reasons you mentioned. I don't understand why programming is any different.