
Can't decide: Web development or iOS development - comatory
I&#x27;ve worked in AV for 7 years professionally,I decided to learn little programming in my free time. Last january I started learning Python and it sort of became my new hobby.
Right now I understand programming principles and I can code but I still lack a lot of general knowledge. Also I&#x27;ve never done anything professionally nor had my code reviewed. But I found out I really enjoy doing this and I&#x27;d like to turn it into a career.
Right now my motivations aren&#x27;t financial (at least not as much). I value more to have some kind of job stability instead of earning more.  I finally decided that I really want to do something that I like. Also, in my previous job, the industry has shifted and my occupation became de-valued and employment is not a sure thing anymore.<p>Ironhack offers both web development and iOS courses. I can&#x27;t decide which one to take. Here are my thoughts:<p>1. Web dev<p>+ it is something I am already familiar with (web design)<p>+ I can already build sites with HTML, CSS and various tools (WP, static website generators etc.)<p>+ from previous job I have lot of graphic experience<p>+ I can already do some web development stuff with Python - managed to do little Flask app<p>- I&#x27;m afraid that there are way too much full-stack devs out there and it&#x27;s gonna bring the market down (I don&#x27;t wanna end up in situation where I&#x27;m at now)<p>- I&#x27;m still not quite sure what web developer does 100%, aren&#x27;t you some sort of jack-of-all-trades kind of dev? Maybe it&#x27;s too &quot;unspecialized&quot;<p>2. iOS<p>+ I&#x27;m quite interested to program on hardware device + fan of iOS generally<p>+ seems like iOS devs are scarce<p>+ I&#x27;ve heard it offers much higher salaries for junior devs than web devs (although it&#x27;s not a deal-breaker see above)<p>+ I already own Apple stuff so I can try it out on real HW<p>- it seems WAY harder than web-based stuff for me, I find Cocoa framework very complicated<p>- the job is tied to one platform = if Apple goes down so do I
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mzjs
This really depends on what you are interested in. Some thoughts about each:

Web design:

\- There are a few different parts to this. You can specialize in front-end or
back-end (although you should have at least some knowledge of both). \- This
isn't really much easier than iOS development over the long term, but the
barrier to entry is much lower. \- Things in this field change really, really
fast. Expect to re-learn basically everything you know every 3-4 years. \- The
core languages (javascript, html, css) are versatile and can be used in many
places: the web browser, the server (nosema or similar), or a native app
(node-webkit).

iOS development: \- You're tied down to a specific platform, which can be a
problem if apple changes it's rules or releases an update with bugs. \- The
barrier to entry is higher, but over the long run it isn't much harder.

(Not that I'm a front-end developer, so this is completely biased)

Really, you should do what you enjoy most. Start learning the basics of each,
and see how much you enjoy it. Also, study the codebases of some existing
well-documented projects - it's a good way to learn more about the language.

~~~
mzjs
Also, once you start getting good at whatever you choose, start contributing
to some open-source projects. Code review is a great way to get better, and
you can contribute to tools you use, which helps you as well.

~~~
comatory
Yeah I hear you. The problem is, I kinda like both (but know already some
stuff about web). The reason why it's so hard for me to decide is that the
cost of the bootcamp is pretty steep.

I come from post-soviet country and the tutor fees are basically my whole life
savings (purchasing power/salaries are basically 5-7x lower than western EU
states). That's why I'm so hesitant to choose one or the other.

~~~
mzjs
You don't need a boot camp. There are plenty of good books on these topics,
which are fairly inexpensive. Also, stack overflow (for all it is ridiculed)
is a great place to ask a question if you are confused about something. Also,
[https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/JavaScript/A_re...](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
US/docs/Web/JavaScript/A_re-introduction_to_JavaScript) is a great way to
learn javascript.

~~~
comatory
Yeah I know I don't "need" it but what you're suggesting is actually what I've
been doing for past year or so. I need a push to turn this into career, hence
the bootcamp (they also say they set up interviews after bootcamp).

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Turing_Machine
You could look at something like Apache Cordova that lets you apply your web
dev knowledge to iOS development. Might be a good way to get your feet wet,
anyway. If it turns out you like the mobile platform, then you could look into
learning Obj-C or Swift and going native.

[https://cordova.apache.org/](https://cordova.apache.org/)

