How to Become an Experienced Android Developer: Insights from Real-Life Experience

I have been working as an Android developer since 2016. As of 2025, when writing this article, it has been nearly nine years since I began my journey as an Android developer. During this time, the Android development process has undergone significant changes. Developers transitioned from Eclipse to Android Studio as the preferred IDE, and Kotlin’s stable version was released. Numerous Android APIs have been deprecated, while new permissions were introduced to enhance user privacy. New libraries such as ConstraintLayout, Jetpack Compose, and Room Database have been introduced, along with advanced dependency injection frameworks like hilt . Modern architectures like MVVM and MVI have been widely adopted, and technologies like Kotlin Multiplatform and Ktor have emerged. There have been many more changes that may not have been mentioned here.

I have extensive experience in developing diverse Android applications, including banking solutions, e-commerce platforms, patient monitoring systems, Location-based services incorporating interactive maps, digital transformation tools for optimizing business workflows, service-oriented applications, and sensor-based apps for environmental monitoring.

During the development of these applications, I became proficient with a wide range of Android APIs, tools, and libraries. The journey was not as easy as it may seem from what I’ve written.
I would like to share some key takeaways and lessons learned throughout my professional journey.

1. Learn the Basics
   Mastering the fundamentals is essential. A strong understanding of core programming concepts, Android SDK, Java/Kotlin, and the Android lifecycle will provide a solid foundation for more advanced topics. Without this basic knowledge, it becomes difficult to handle complex scenarios.
2. Be Consistent with Learning, Invest Enough Time
   Consistency is key to improvement. Set aside dedicated time for learning new technologies, libraries, and tools. Regular study and practice will help you build on your knowledge, stay updated, and refine your skills over time. Simply learning once is not enough; you need continuous exposure and repetition to master the craft.
3. Master Debugging
   Debugging is one of the most important skills for a developer. It helps you identify and fix issues in your code efficiently. By mastering debugging techniques and tools, you’ll be…