7 Steps to a Xamarin Developer Career

Are you thinking of changing your main profession and one day becoming a Xamarin developer? And do you need practical advice that in the future will help you find a job related to Xamarin? In this article I want to share tips of the leader of the Russian Xamarin-community, Sasha Alekseev, about the early career of the developer Xamarin.



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Important : The article assumes that the reader is already familiar with the basics of C #. If this is not the case, then I advise you to take the free course “Fascinating C # programming” at the Microsoft Virtual Academy, and go back to reading this text.

1. Learn Xamarin for 3-month free subscriptions on PluralSight and LinkedIn Learning (Lynda)

To get three months of free use of PluralSight and Lynda, you will need to register your profile in Outlook. Then go to Visual Studio Dev Essentials and get access to free tools, services and lessons.

Activate your Lynda and PluralSight profiles by confirming your email.
At PluralSight and Lynda, you'll find a basic and intermediate Xamarin course. We recommend to start learning Xamarin with them.

In addition, a large number of tutorials and lessons on Xamarin and Xamarin Forms can be found on YouTube.

2. Get a certificate from Xamarin University

Not everyone agrees with the opinion that an application developer should spend time and money on certification. But a certificate from Xamarin University will be a good investment in your future career if:

• You have no experience or development portfolio on Xamarin;
• You have a free monthly subscription from Visual Studio Dev Essentials;
• You are just starting to learn Xamarin;
• You will benefit from valuable tips and answers to questions from instructors Xamarin University;
• You need confirmation of your Xamarin knowledge.

3. Join the Xamarin Development Groups

On Facebook , Vkontakte , Telegram and other social networks, there are whole communities of Xamarin developers, in which every beginner will not be overlooked.

Communication in these groups will allow you to stay abreast of the latest technologies, understand the most common tasks and pitfalls when working with Xamarin and make friends with Xamarin developers around the world. Xamarin meetings sponsored by Microsoft are often held in big cities. The upcoming Xamarin Day event will be held January 31 in Moscow. Check if there are Xamarin communities in your city.

4. Start developing your first Xamarin application.

Starting with the formation of a wireless frame and ending with the monitoring of your first application on Xamarin, the process will be worth all the effort. Your name in the list of developers will be the best proof for a future employer that you can write applications on Xamarin.

• Use unit testing. So your resume will look more solid;
• The MVVM pattern will guide and accelerate the development process;
• Register your iOS, Android, and Microsoft developer profile. This will allow you to upload your app to stores.

5. Learn video tutorials, podcasts, and books about Xamarin.

We all have to do household chores that do not require special mental stress, such as cleaning, washing dishes or exercise. To make the most of this time, try listening to the Gone Mobile , Merge Conflict, or Xamarin Podcast during your daily routine. These are compulsory podcasts for anyone interested in Xamarin.

Find video tutorials on Xamarin on Channel 9 . They contain a lot of useful tips for developers of any level - from intermediate to advanced.

And Xamarin dedicated e-books will help pass the time in queues and public transport.

6. Post your portfolio on freelance sites

First of all, it is worth having a portfolio on UpWork . This platform is used by many entrepreneurs who need the services of Xamarin developers. Tasks range from small changes to an existing project on the Xamarin Form to eliminating bugs and building applications from scratch.

This is a good option if you need to gain experience and fill up the portfolio. But in order to find orders at first, you will have to set low prices for your services - after all, first of all you signed up for UpWork for the sake of additional experience.

7. Start searching for jobs on HH, LinkedIn, Indeed and any other popular job search site.

Update your CV on LinkedIn and keep track of all new Xamarin developer jobs. Mark for yourself all the large companies working in this direction, and from time to time check the list of vacancies from them.

Send your resume in response to all Xamarin-related jobs on HH, Indeed, and other sites. If you are invited to an interview, agree - if you are not taken to work, then at least you will gain experience in interviewing. Do not be discouraged if the first interview fails - this happens in most cases. Perseverance and patience will lead you to success.

Finally, we note a couple of moments that will allow you to start a career as a developer of Xamarin.

Upload your practice and test projects to GitHub. For what? This will give a potential employer the opportunity to evaluate your abilities if you are required to show examples of work at an interview.

Follow these tips relentlessly, and over time it will bear fruit. Starting a career as a Xamarin developer is not as easy as you might think - for this you will need a lot of patience, time and money. But ultimately you will be convinced that it was worth it.

Good luck!

Thank you for the translation.

Alexander Alekseev - Xamarin-developer, freelancer. Works with the .NET platform since 2012. Participated in the development of a procurement automation system at Digamma. C 2015 went into freelancing and switched to mobile development using Xamarin. Currently working at StecPoint on an iOS application.

It manages the XamDev.ru resource and the Xamarin Developers community in social networks: VK , Facebook , Telegram .

You can find other articles on Xamarin in our #xamarincolumn column.

The article is based on materials from the site devlinduldulao.pro .