Demand for iPhone Developers Up 500%
The SDK and the success of the App Store have combined to create an emerging professional category, that of iPhone application developer.
According to oDesk, a technology outsourcer billing itself as the “leading marketplace and global IT platform for outsourcing technology jobs to certified, freelance, Apple iPhone developers”, demand has risen for iPhone-related positions from 30 to upwards of 140 jobs per month over the past six months.
While the numbers are drawn from internal oDesk records only, such a steep increase is unlikely to be an isolated phenomenon. Nor is oDesk’s sample pool a limited one, since they have representation in over 100 countries worldwide, including major markets like the U.S. and China.
Though some of the growth followed immediately after the announcement of the iPhone SDK availability, the most significant growth came after last July, when the App Store officially opened for business. No doubt the impressive download numbers that continue to come out of Cupertino are beginning to catch the attention of the wait-and-see corporate crowd.
If the numbers are a good representation of a wider trend, then there are a few things to take away from this rapid growth.
First, it might indicate the specific nature of Apple’s recent educational initiatives. As the marketplace becomes more discerning, accreditation will be more important to potential employers. Considering Apple’s pick for the Apple U job, they are clearly getting serious about academic laurels, and a new field hungry for certification is a good reason to do so.
Second, expect to see a lot more movie and product tie-ins like the Dark Knight’s Jokering-app, and the recently released Bolt-related game from Disney. For companies, hiring freelancers to develop a quick iPhone application is a cheap way to heighten brand awareness.
Finally, expect more conflict over intellectual property. Stringers and freelancers always bring in issues of confidentiatility and proprietary information, and with so many in the fray, the iPint/iBeer situation is unlikely to be just a one-off.
The question now is whether the demand for developers continues to grow, or plateaus and shrinks once the App Store loses its novelty value or competitors like BlackBerry and Google gain ground.
Dunk on October 28th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
“certified, freelance, Apple iPhone developers”…
AFAIK, there is no iPhone certification available – from Apple or anyone else (unless you count courses like those run by the great folks at Big Nerd Ranch and Prag Prog).
I’d be interested to see how they judge someone to be “certified”…
brian on October 29th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
This is funny because other iPhone is mostly for personal uses…not sure how it can be successful for true business users considering that it does not have a keyboard.
http://www.livbit.com
David on October 29th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Brian,
I consider myself a true (and succesful) business user and the lack of a physical keyboard doesn’t harm me in the least. And I was a blackberry user for two years prior. It comes down to preference – I rather have the screen space in a compact device than fiddle with a physical keyboard.
http://www.davidbisset.com
Peter Melnikov on October 29th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
That article has a lot of truth. As an outsourcing company we see the increasing demand for Apple development and are happy to be the player on that market. One of our apps was recently featured by Apple too. Will be happy to meet new clients that need Apple App created.
Ali Raza Shaikh on October 29th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Indeed! iPhone is a great Platform. I myself designed many applications. Portfolio is here
http://picasaweb.google.com/nuvica.pakistan/IPhone#
Regards,
Ali Raza Shaikh
http://www.alirazashaikh.com
John Roberts on October 29th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I absolutely LOVE my Iphone 3G and am always looking for cool new apps.
Jiff
http://www.online-anonymity.kr.tc
web on November 11th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Disco Stu: “Did you know that disco record sales were up 400% for the year ending 1976? If these trends continues… AAY!”
Brian Anderson on March 6th, 2009 at 10:37 am
I completely agree. I am the Senior Sales Rep for the only mobile site dedicated to the mobile industry (http://www.mobijobs.com) and we have seen a dramatic rise in the number of postings and also candidates looking to get into the mobile space. So far it’s been recession-proof. Hope it stays that way.