November 2, 2022
FEATURE
Seven App Store creators share their tips for building a career in programming
It often starts with a spark: a budding curiosity that develops into a more dedicated interest and then slowly grows into a consuming passion for solving unique problems and forging lasting connections in an entirely new language.
For some app developers, this spark was ignited in school by an encouraging teacher or parent, while others started coding later in life, driven by an innate desire to take things apart and understand how they work.
Ahead of National STEAM Day on November 8, seven inspiring creators, from college roommates bonded over their love of sneakers to a pair of engineers looking to help other moms find quality child care, share their unique journeys that led them to be entrepreneurs through application development. and the app store. Below, they offer information for those looking to make the leap into coding, and highlight the endless opportunities available to aspiring app developers at all stages of life.
Follow curiosity wherever it leads you
Anne K. Halsall (Apple Entrepreneur Camp 2022 participant), co-founder and chief product officer of Winnie, a child care discovery platform that helps parents find high-quality childcare and preschools.
“As a kid, computer-aided art and computer design were the things I spent all my time on; I was obsessed. The strange thing for me was that it was always like a hobby, something I pursued for fun, in the privacy of my own home. I didn’t get a chance to network with other kids about this, because I didn’t know any other girls who liked computers. And when I went to college, it never occurred to me to do this as a career. I didn’t even consider pursuing technology as a career, despite having computers in my life since I was very young. I of course ended up there because it was meant to be. It was what I wanted to do and what I was passionate about. As much as I tried to do other things with my life, I inevitably ended up in technology, despite myself.”
Don’t be afraid to change course
Amanda Southworth (2017 and 2018 WWDC Student Scholar), founder and CEO of Astra Laboratoriesa nonprofit organization that develops technology solutions that bring vital resources to underserved communities
“I created my first app, AnxietyHelper, and thought it would be something I could talk about on college applications. I thought, ‘I like mobile development a little bit, but I’m going to go back to robotics. I’ll go to college. But I ended up doing none of those things. With AnxietyHelper, I pulled out something that I knew I had a need for because I was experiencing that need. The response has been and continues to be completely overwhelming; It was something really beautiful that came out of a lot of struggle and strength. It was very important to understand that there are many forms of action someone can take and varying degrees of impact. Application development is my platform, like the way some people write poetry or how some people make movies. The way I communicate and the way I process emotions is through app development.”
Sara Mauskopf, Co-Founder and CEO of Winnie
“I always tell people that you are never too old to learn to code. I discovered it in college and thought I was behind because some people at my college had learned to code in high school, but it turns out you can learn at any time, even much later in your career. At Winnie, we really support hiring people from non-traditional backgrounds, like parents returning to the workforce or people who see coding as a new career path after their first career.”
cultivate community
Akshaya Dinesh (2018 WWDC Scholar), Founder and CEO of Spellbound, a tool that enables businesses to embed interactive user experiences directly into their marketing emails.
“When I was in high school, I started a nonprofit in my spare time, and we had a really amazing team of young women who were passionate about making changes in the industry; we were hosting everything from workshops for high school girls to learn about coding, to hackathons of our own. We organized one of the largest women’s hackathons in New York City, bringing together hundreds of people from all over the area. People even flew in from all over the country to come and participate and create their own products and apps. It’s been really amazing to see a community flourish.”
Nicco Adams (Apple Entrepreneur Camp 2021 participant), co-founder of Kickstroida discovery app that uses machine learning to help sneaker enthusiasts discover their next favorite pair
“I grew up in a predominantly black community where not many people were looking for STEAM. So you have this little collective that started in high school where, for the first time, I saw people who looked like me in this space. These are the pioneers of our future, the ones who will design what this world will look like and how we will interact with it. They are okay with being vulnerable, taking the road less traveled to really make their mark on this world. So, I looked at them and thought, ‘I should go ahead and jump into this space,’ a space where it doesn’t matter if you’re the teacher or the student; everyone learns from each other.”
build trust
“The biggest piece of advice I have for women founders and entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups is trust. You know, there are so many people who are less underrepresented than we are, and they can get by just by looking super, super confident and believing in themselves. I think that’s the first step to making others believe in you: having the faith that you can too. Even if you don’t have that confidence at first, pretend you’re the most confident version of yourself possible. That has worked wonders for me, in terms of everything from raising venture capital to hiring employees, everything to do with getting people to believe in my vision. Trust has been the first step.” — Akshaya Dinesh
Find tutoring
Alandis Seals, junior developer and assistant instructor at Farm Ed, a nonprofit and Apple Community Education Initiative partner that encourages kids and adults to pursue careers in STEAM
“I had an instructor who taught me how to code, and he was kind of a mentor at first. He would come to ask him some questions and he was so responsive: if he didn’t know something, he’d jump into a Zoom with me and we’d try to figure it out, even if it took hours. We were trying to work out any little issues that I had, and that got me to the point where I can now help pass on the language. He did that for me, and I have to do it for the next generation. I want to be that person who provides the same kind of help.”
pay it later
David Alston (Apple Entrepreneur Camp 2021 participant), Kickstroid co-founder and CEO “Whatever someone does for you, do it double for the people behind you. Whatever they give you, don’t keep it just for yourself. It was shared with you with the intention that it also be shared with others to help build a community of people with interests like ours, who look like us, and come from backgrounds like ours. This is how we build a generation of innovators that look like us. Knowledge is not yours alone; knowledge is meant to be shared. Knowledge is meant to be cultivated, improved, and passed on to the people behind us.”
“The important thing for me today is to be able to give examples to children that there are women in this field, that there are women who go to computer science school, that there are women who have professional careers in programming and the digital world. Because when I was young, I didn’t really have the benefit of that. I think that’s the best explanation I can think of for why I didn’t initially choose technology as a career. I think it is very important for us to be examples of professional women in this field, so that other girls can also see themselves.” —Anne K. Halsall
Don’t wait, take the leap
“It’s been six and a half years now building Winnie, and we built her through our childbearing years. It really wasn’t an option for us to wait to have children until after we were done with our startup because this is a long journey. And if she succeeds, this is a 10+ year journey that she’s on. If she wants to wait until her children grow up, she is missing out on too much time and opportunity.” — Sara Mauskopf
Apple believes that coding is essential literacy and has the power to change the world. Our coding resources make it easy for anyone to learn, write, and teach coding and app design using open source tools like Swift Playgrounds, Everyone Can Code, and a rich set of free tools and frameworks, including software development kits (SDKs) and developer. services with more than 250,000 APIs. Programs like Apple Developer Academies, Entrepreneur Camps, App Accelerators, and WWDC Student Scholarships ensure the power of coding technology is accessible and inclusive.
The App Store, launched in 2008, is the world’s most secure and vibrant app marketplace, currently home to 1.8 million apps and visited by more than 500 million people each week in 175 regions. Help creators, dreamers, and learners of all ages and backgrounds connect with the tools and information they need to build a brighter future and a better world. To learn more about developing for the App Store, visit apple.com/app-store/developing-for-the-app-store.
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Source: news.google.com