Help me curb my future.

[EpicIncognitO]

Hi there,

It took me some time to realize the love I had for Windows, be it phones or desktop.... Lets come to the point now. I am a Commerce graduate ( Did it because of other reasons apart from the love for it) . I am gonna be 26 soon. Belong to Kolkata, India. Have worked in a MNC for more than 2.5 yrs now, in an outsourced environment. Always been into tech since school. Got deeply involved since 2009. Followed the evolution of Nokia to Microsoft. The days of Windows Mango, to 8.1. Done alot of free lancing during college days. I used to write articles alot and been an administrator of a website that existed before Facebook.

Now after working in the current industry, I realize that I am not a person who can do the same things everyday. I am a creative buzz right from the start. I need to do something I love. Something that interests me.
I have finally decided that maybe I am and will feed on technology forever and so I should span my career into it.

I wanted your help by answering a few questions. Answers that could really help my future. I trust you Developers can answer better than anyone.
1. What are the languages or courses I need to know in depth to learn and create Windows app? I know about App Studio and DVLUP. But I want my basics to be strong.
2. How long does it take to learn to make full fledged apps both for phone and pc?
3. What other extra certifications will help me?
4. For my Indian friends- What scope does this have in our country? Is there a growth or vacuum for Windows app developers or I need to fight it out? Are there an institutes for this?
5. What are the ways that I can earn after become an app developer?
6. What are the costs or investments into this?

Please take your time and answer in the best ways possible as this may change my future in course of time.

I will wait. Thank you.

 

[frarsoftware]

Hi EpicIncognitO,

some answers to your questions:
1) With Windows App Studio you can developer many apps. If you want more you have to learn C# language that is the most used language for Windows apps.
2) You could try starting with courses that you can find on MVA (Microsoft Virtual Academy). Give it a try! I cannot share here links because I have not yet 10 posts on this forum so search it on a search engine and it wil be the first result. . You can try for example this course: Developing Universal Windows Apps with C# and XAML. If you have difficulties following it try series Jump Start or Absolute Beginner series.
3) There are many Microsoft certifications but they are not required to develop apps. You can publish apps without having it.
4) I don't know :-(
5) Advertising and app sales are the most frequent monetization choices.
6) You need a pc with WIndows 8.1, Visual Studio 2013 software (Community Edition is free), subscription to "Windows Dev Center" website and a Windows Phone smartphone (it's not required but it can be useful for testing). Subscription to Dev Center is free for students and costs 19$ for individual account, 99$ for company account. It's not a price per year but it must be payed only once at subscription and then it lasts forever.

Let me know if you have any doubt.

Happy learning,
frarsoftware

 

[EpicIncognitO]

Thank you so much mate. This really helped.
By C# do you mean C++ ?

Let me try the steps you said and then I will get back to you on this. Cheers.

 

[frarsoftware]

No, it's C#, a language that is very used in Microsoft platform. It's simpler than C++.

You can find some info about it searching "C Sharp (programming language)" on Wikipedia. C Sharp is the pronounce for C# in english language.

 

[EpicIncognitO]

Can you tell me the difference between app studio and dev center?

 

[Spyros P]

App Studio is an online tool by Microsoft, that allows you to create simple apps that can be deployed on your phone.

Dev Center is the Microsoft web site where developers can manage their Windows Store apps and games. It's the link between the developers and the Store.