Looking for a job writing Android Apps in B4A?

raytronixsystems

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The title of this posting brought most of you here to read this. I have been looking all over the known universe in search of an employer looking for a programmer with Basic4android experience but to date have found NONE. So, I toil day -in and day out both learning Basic4android and developing my first commercial app with hopes that one day I can earn a living doing this full time and in the comfort of my home (or on the beach in the Caribbean... LOL). I'm sure quite a few of you have the same goal.

There are now over 16,000 worldwide developers ( and more daily) using Basic4android. I see ads all over the Internet for the sale of Basic4android at 30% off. The word is out there now - Android Apps can be developed faster, better and cheaper than before! Quite a few companies are probably wondering what b4a is all about. A large percentage of us would love to work for someone making decent money as consultants, freelancers and full time Android developers using Basic4android.

The problem: Most Android development shops will require x amount of time of experience in developing on the Android platform using the traditional methods: Java,XML and Eclipse with the Google SDK. Quite a few Basic4android programmers (like myself) have virtually no experience with Java but might have experience in other traditional high-level languages such as C/C++, VB, Pascal, etc. We are Android programmers in the true sense - just not using Java but with a new language called Basic4android. We can create world-class applications that rival those produced in Java. The performance of our apps is as good as theirs. We are now learning all we can about Erel's magnificent masterpiece and getting better at it each and every day. We have a support group that is second to none. Try asking a question at Microsoft or other large software vendors and see how long it takes to receive an answer... Days...weeks... months... never?

We need to convince the world that we are legitimate and can be found. What better place to find us than on this website? I am proposing that we ask everyone to take a look wherever they go to look for jobs and see if they can find work for all of us who are members of this community and post it here. Perhaps we can create a section where jobs can be posted and another section where developers looking for work could post their experience and credentials (CV, resume', Marketplace Apps, etc.) for perspective employers to see. We would have to link those areas to the world's major job boards so that clients having work can be connected with those looking for work.

My theory: In looking for a solution to their problem, a business or potential client might NOT care what language their App is written in as long as the programmer delivers it bug-free, on time and within budget. Of course, maintenance is an issue if the original programmer gets run over by a truck. There must be some reasonable reassurance that a replacement can be found. We have over 16000 potential backups! We have to convince the world that we are a serious force to be reckoned with. I'm just throwing this one out there for discussion . What do you think? Is the state of the world economy getting you down? Are you jobless and ready to make some great money? We can make a difference!:sign0163:

thx,
Ray
 

Erel

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This is an interesting topic.
I can create a sub-forum for job offers. It is hard to say whether it will catch or not.

A good "selling point" for Basic4android in such cases, is that it generates Java code. This means that it is possible to take the Java sources from a B4A project and continue the development with Java.
 
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thedesolatesoul

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So you are talking about a permanent job/contract with a company?
I have seen many people on this forum who seem to be writing software for businesses. (If they dont come forward we can dig out a list of their names ;) )

The advantage of this market, however, is that you can still make a living (albeit harder) by writing software for the masses.
 
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wl

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I guess there's also a market for employers that need a solution regardless of the technology used ? In which case B4A could be really helpful as well ?

Erel: you might also consider providing (paid) premium support for these cases (some specific logic to be worked out for example). But please do not forget to help us in the forums as well :)
 
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raytronixsystems

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Thanks Erel for considering this. Being that Basic4android cross-compiles a VB-like language into pure Java is an excellent selling and marketing point.
Back in the 90's I had used a product called Borland C++ Builder that was light years ahead of anything Microsoft had out at the time (1995) and was met with heavy opposition by my employer. I installed my own licensed copy on my machine at work and was able to crank out Windows GUI programs using standard C and C++ at a time when Visual Studio and C# were not even around. It was easy to learn (like B4a) and allowed me to use my VB and C experience and become productive from day one. I still would have kept developing in Borland to this day but nobody would go near it because it wasn't a mainstream industry standard. Hence, I had developed a skill on my resume that wasn't in demand in most places I had looked. I don't see this for Basic4android because the demand for Android apps for phones, tablets is so hot and hopefully Android could become the preferred O/S for desktop machines.

I think we will see quite a bit of activity in this new forum. With the unemployment rate in the USA at an all time high (and probably world-wide) there are quite a few developers out of work at this time and looking to find some way to make a decent living. I am disabled and have not worked a full time job with benefits in 10 years. I have, however, worked several high-paying consulting jobs in the interim. Last year, with the advice of a former colleague and supervisor of mine, I decided to pursue Android development as a means of securing my financial future. I had an extensive background programming in assembler, C/C++ and VB spanning nearly 40 years but never had programmed in Java. I looked around and found Basic4android in March of 2011 and have been hooked on it ever since.

If I do not end up working in a building full time for a company, working at home would suit me very well. No more commuting and paying high gas prices to get to the workplace. No more dress codes and people telling me when I could or could not take a vacation. I would work at my own hours and get to see my family more often than I did if working outside the home.

My dream job would be to run a small business in my home that developed Android Apps for large or small companies or individuals seeking to have an App developed for the Android platform but lack the internal resources to do so. They would develop a spec, we would negotiate a price and deadline and then I'd be off to the keyboard. But since I have not finished my first app and put it on the Market or elsewhere, I feel I have no immediate credibility. I still have plenty to learn about Android and B4a in general. Soon I will have finished my app and then will be able to pursue my dream. Even if I don't make a cent selling my app at least it will be there on the Market for the world to see. It will become a viable selling point on my resume and a launching point for the 12 or so apps currently on my drawing board. My marketing approach to some of the apps would be free distribution of the app to end users while having my clients pay me monthly maintenance for updating data that the app presents to end users. The idea is write the app once, distribute it to end users and collect money from businesses for monthly maintenance.

I have seen a few listings for Android Apps on Internet sites such as Craigslist, elance.com and freelancer.com. Some were software companies requiring the app to be completely written in Java and other listings on Craigslist did not specify the language but instead emphasized on the design of the app. We need to open this platform up to the masses allowing doctors, lawyers, real estate salespersons and other small businesses to establish a presence on the smartphones that millions use daily.

thx,
Ray
 
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LittleBritaly

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From a business perspective I have a couple of ideas that would help out in my business and I'm capable of developing them (the in-house software we use is written in either flash/actionscript or pascal/lazarus which I personally developed).

One thing is stopping me developing using basic4android, time, I simply don't have enough hours in the day, anything from 10 to 16 hours each day, 7 days a week. Last year I had 7 days off and even then had phone calls to handle.

One thing is stopping me bringing in an outside developer, cost. I simply cannot afford, in the current economic climate to spend any cash on development projects. I suspect many many businesses are in a similar position.

Why then is it not possible for developers and businesses to get together and come up with a suitable alternative, a percentage driven scheme for example.

Currently one company provides my business with online orders, for this service they take a % of each sale, couldn't some enterprising developer start offering businesses "free" development then take a % of each sale/use/installation/ etc.

In these harsh economic times new solutions should be explored, a 0.01 % of something is better than a 0% of nothing.

Does this make sense to anyone ?
 
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bluedude

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Jobs

Well, this is interesting.

I posted in the forum several times asking for people who would like to develop for money and basically got no response. Actually, got the impression most people love to do stuff for their own.

For me it is clear this forum is great for support etc. but not for business :)

If there are 16000 B4A developers, which is a lot, there should somewhere be a buzzing business. However, If I look at some sample apps. (no offense) created with B4A I think there is still a lot to do to get these up to a professional level.

Anyway, there is a challenge there!

I'm actually interested in meeting good developers the coming three months because most customer aren't really interested in how it is developed.

The most important part here is who can take over if something happens with a certain developer. So we need a pool of developers in the end.

Cheers,
 
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thedesolatesoul

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There are a lot of people here that could use support.
The only thing holding me back to start a proposal, is commitment. I already have a full-time job and can only spend a little time every week (could range from 1 hour to 10 hours max). Also, I started a couple of projects, and until I get atleast one out of the door I will not feel confident enough to undertake another one.
So right now, I am just waiting for my first project to complete, and then time-permitting I will start some collaborations.
 
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bluedude

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I guess that is the overall problem in here, B4A developers are not fulltime. That is the reason that I always in the end move to native Android devs.

Would like to change that but it seems to be hard.
 
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