Career Overlap Transition record
RecordMove

Mobile application developer to software developer

A mobile application developer already meets 69% of what the software developer role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.

Fig. 1 · Skill transfer ESCO v1.2.1 · directional
From mobile application developer
69 % overlap
Strong match
To software developer
79 You already bring
10 Still to learn
108 Skills in the target role2
Learning distance Real move, short list to learn

47/ 100

1 How much of what a software developer is expected to do is already part of a mobile application developer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the software developer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.

Why

Why this move works

A software developer role treats 14 of its required skills as things a mobile application developer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.

  • ICT debugging tools
  • analyse software specifications
  • computer programming
  • create flowchart diagram
  • debug software
  • develop automated migration methods

What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.

Table 2

Table 2 · What you already bring

Of the 79 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A software developer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a mobile application developer background worth leading with.

Skill the target role also needs Area
  • already held SPARK information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held Xcode information and communication technologies (icts)
  • already held adapt to changes in technological development plans communication, collaboration and creativity
  • already held use concurrent programming working with computers
  • already held use functional programming working with computers
  • already held develop automated migration methods management skills

All 79 carried skills, including the 14 the software developer role treats as required.

Table 3

Table 3 · What you may need to learn

The 29 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.

Skill to pick up Tier
01 engineering, manufacturing and construction 3 required
  • still to learn engineering processes required
  • still to learn engineering principles required
  • still to learn technical drawings required
02 information skills 2 required
  • still to learn interpret technical requirements required
  • still to learn perform scientific research required
03 management skills 2 required
  • still to learn define technical requirements required
  • still to learn manage engineering project required
04 information and communication technologies (icts) 1 required, 15 supplementary
  • still to learn web services required
  • optional, not held Ajax Framework optional
  • optional, not held Apache Tomcat optional
  • optional, not held Drupal optional
  • optional, not held IBM WebSphere optional
  • optional, not held JavaScript Framework optional
  • optional, not held NoSQL optional
  • optional, not held Oracle Application Development Framework optional
  • optional, not held SQL optional
  • optional, not held WordPress optional
  • optional, not held blockchain openness optional
  • optional, not held blockchain platforms optional
  • optional, not held smart contract optional
  • optional, not held software frameworks optional
  • optional, not held trading software optional
  • optional, not held data visualisation software optional
05 working with computers 1 required, 2 supplementary
  • still to learn use technical drawing software required
  • optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
  • optional, not held utilise machine learning optional
06 business, administration and law 1 required
  • still to learn project management required

1 further area in the appendix

Table 4

Table 4 · Where to start

The 3 entries a software developer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.

Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.

Appendix

Appendix · The rest of the record

All 79 skills that carry over
Skill Type
  • already held ICT debugging tools knowledge
  • already held analyse software specifications skill
  • already held computer programming knowledge
  • already held create flowchart diagram skill
  • already held debug software skill
  • already held develop automated migration methods skill
  • already held develop software prototype skill
  • already held identify customer requirements skill
  • already held integrated development environment software knowledge
  • already held tools for software configuration management knowledge
  • already held use an application-specific interface skill
  • already held use software design patterns skill
  • already held use software libraries skill
  • already held utilise computer-aided software engineering tools skill
  • already held ABAP knowledge
  • already held AJAX knowledge
  • already held APL knowledge
  • already held ASP.NET knowledge
  • already held Ansible knowledge
  • already held Apache Maven knowledge
  • already held Assembly (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held C# knowledge
  • already held C++ knowledge
  • already held COBOL knowledge
  • already held CoffeeScript knowledge
  • already held Common Lisp knowledge
  • already held Eclipse (integrated development environment software) knowledge
  • already held Erlang knowledge
  • already held Groovy knowledge
  • already held Haskell knowledge
  • already held ICT security legislation knowledge
  • already held Internet of Things knowledge
  • already held Java (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held JavaScript knowledge
  • already held Jenkins (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
  • already held KDevelop knowledge
  • already held Lisp knowledge
  • already held MATLAB knowledge
  • already held ML (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Microsoft Visual C++ knowledge
  • already held Objective-C knowledge
  • already held OpenEdge Advanced Business Language knowledge
  • already held PHP knowledge
  • already held Pascal (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Perl knowledge
  • already held Prolog (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Puppet (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
  • already held Python (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held R knowledge
  • already held Ruby (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held SAP R3 knowledge
  • already held SAS language knowledge
  • already held SPARK knowledge
  • already held STAF knowledge
  • already held Salt (tools for software configuration management) knowledge
  • already held Scala knowledge
  • already held Scratch (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Smalltalk (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held Swift (computer programming) knowledge
  • already held TypeScript knowledge
  • already held VBScript knowledge
  • already held Visual Basic knowledge
  • already held World Wide Web Consortium standards knowledge
  • already held Xcode knowledge
  • already held adapt to changes in technological development plans skill
  • already held collect customer feedback on applications skill
  • already held design user interface skill
  • already held develop creative ideas skill
  • already held integrate system components skill
  • already held migrate existing data skill
  • already held object-oriented modelling knowledge
  • already held screen reader knowledge
  • already held software anomalies knowledge
  • already held use automatic programming skill
  • already held use concurrent programming skill
  • already held use functional programming skill
  • already held use logic programming skill
  • already held use object-oriented programming skill
  • already held use query languages skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
Skill to pick up Tier
07 services 2 supplementary
  • optional, not held cyber attack counter-measures optional
  • optional, not held defence standard procedures optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
Skill to pick up Tier
  • optional, not held Ajax Framework optional
  • optional, not held Apache Tomcat optional
  • optional, not held Drupal optional
  • optional, not held IBM WebSphere optional
  • optional, not held JavaScript Framework optional
  • optional, not held NoSQL optional
  • optional, not held Oracle Application Development Framework optional
  • optional, not held SQL optional
  • optional, not held WordPress optional
  • optional, not held blockchain openness optional
  • optional, not held blockchain platforms optional
  • optional, not held cyber attack counter-measures optional
  • optional, not held defence standard procedures optional
  • optional, not held do cloud refactoring optional
  • optional, not held smart contract optional
  • optional, not held software frameworks optional
  • optional, not held trading software optional
  • optional, not held utilise machine learning optional
  • optional, not held data visualisation software optional
9 held skills the software developer role does not ask for
Skill Type
  • not needed by the target role Android (mobile operating systems) knowledge
  • not needed by the target role BlackBerry knowledge
  • not needed by the target role Joomla knowledge
  • not needed by the target role augmented reality knowledge
  • not needed by the target role digital systems knowledge
  • not needed by the target role iOS knowledge
  • not needed by the target role interpret technical texts skill
  • not needed by the target role mobile device software frameworks knowledge
  • not needed by the target role mobile operating systems knowledge
22 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice

Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.

Skill to pick up Tier
  • still to learn engineering processes required
  • still to learn project management required
  • still to learn web services required
  • still to learn engineering principles required
  • still to learn technical drawings required
  • optional, not held Ajax Framework optional
  • optional, not held Apache Tomcat optional
  • optional, not held Drupal optional
  • optional, not held IBM WebSphere optional
  • optional, not held JavaScript Framework optional
  • optional, not held NoSQL optional
  • optional, not held Oracle Application Development Framework optional
  • optional, not held SQL optional
  • optional, not held WordPress optional
  • optional, not held blockchain openness optional
  • optional, not held blockchain platforms optional
  • optional, not held cyber attack counter-measures optional
  • optional, not held defence standard procedures optional
  • optional, not held smart contract optional
  • optional, not held software frameworks optional
  • optional, not held trading software optional
  • optional, not held data visualisation software optional
Index

Other moves recorded from mobile application developer

Full index of moves from mobile application developer

FAQ

Common questions about this move

Can a mobile application developer become a software developer?

Yes, and it is a moderate move. A mobile application developer already covers 69% of what a software developer is expected to do: 79 skills carry over, 14 of which the software developer role treats as required.

What skills does a mobile application developer need to become a software developer?

10 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by engineering, manufacturing and construction. The single most important is engineering processes.

How hard is the move from mobile application developer to software developer?

Its learning distance is 47 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.

Note

How this record was compiled

Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.