Hi everyone,

Sorry if I've posted this in the wrong category.

I'm new to Hacking with Swift and new to programming in general. I'm very interested in learning Swift as I like the idea of creating apps for Apple devices. However, my ambition long term is to work for myself, whether that be freelancing, creating my own apps, blogging, etc. Do you see this as viable in iOS development, or is the only realistic option to work for a company? I've also considered learning the web stack.

I'd really appreciate any feedback! Many thanks.

Freddie

You might find better answers through members in the iOS Happy Hour

They have monthly Zoom meetings. Many of the breakout rooms are developers in the same stage as you. Many share the projects they are working on, recent job interviews. Plus it's great to hear others share their development history, successes and tribulations.

In my opinion, that's a weird way to approach the problem. That is, "I know I want to work for myself, so is spending the time to learn Swift programming going to get me there?"

You (obviously) can start from there, but I will suggest that you're skipping a very important question, to wit:

"If I am going to be self-employed, what are the skills I'm going to need, in order to be successful?"

It is patently obvious that the tech stack is the least important part of the answer. There are self-employed accountants, lawyers, house cleaners gardeners, roofers, etc., and none of them need Swift or even web development to be successful. Since you're asking about Swift but offering other tech stacks as options, it sounds like you care less about the tools and more about the situation. Spend a week talking to successful self-employed people about their situations and what they find most important to their success. Buy someone lunch and ask about how they got their first independent gigs. (Here's a hint: there are very few people standing on street corners, shouting, "Hey! I need an iOS developer over here!")

DO NOT CLICK the red "label makers" link in the message above. It is spam.

I think that's a strange way to approach the problem. The question is, "Am I going to get to where I want to be by learning Swift programming?"

Obviously, you can start there, but I think you're skipping a very important question:

"If I am going to be self-employed, what are the skills I'm going to need, in order to be successful?"

Obviously, the tech stack is the least important factor. Swift is not required to be successful for self-employed accountants, lawyers, house cleaners, gardeners, roofers, etc. As you're asking about Swift but offering other tech stacks as options, it seems you're less concerned about the tools and more about the situation. Spend a week talking to successful self-employed people about their situations and what they find most important to their success. Buy someone lunch and ask about how they got their first independent gigs. (There are surprisingly few people standing on street corners and shouting, "Hey! I need an iOS developer over here!")