(via TechNet study)
Some say the mobile device "app gold rush" is over. Both the iOS and Android markets have the better part of a million applications each, how can there be room for more? I disagree. I think the field is flush with possibilities. So far, 466,000 jobs have been created in the "app economy" business. There is room for more.
The App Economy generated $20 billion USD in 2011 alone, according to the TechNet study on the industry. The revenue includes app sales, in app advertising gains, virtual and physical goods sold due to apps. The major contributors to the app markets are not surprising: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Facebook site apps, and Windows Mobile/Phone. (I would say Blackberry may be a dwindling market for the developer, beware.)
(Left) App jobs per state (Right) App jobs per city (via TechNet study)
Geographical location was also obvious in the report. California state, USA, takes the crown having 23.8% of the jobs. New York, Washington, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts, Georgia, Virginia, and Florida round out the top 10 in order. Being close to the OS company in Silicon Valley is a popular choice for app developers, while others want to be near advertising/media concentration in New York.
Growth is predicted, by the report, to be significant in the coming years. Between 2010 and 2011, an increase of 45% was seen in the job want ads. If you have the skill, the jobs are plentiful.
App career growth chart (via TechNet study)
With feature phones (dumb-phones) outnumbering Smartphones 4:1, globally, as of 2011, the app market has the potential to grow 400%. Take $20 billion and make it $80 billion to give another perspective. There are 82.2 million Smartphone users in the USA(2011), those numbers will only grow over time. I liken this to the adoption of computers in the home. At first slow, now every home has several.
Want to get started? Try the Goolge/MIT App Inventor. No coding needed.
Cabe
See the full TechNet study, attached to this post
| TechNet-App-Economy-Jobs-Study.pdf |
