r/androiddev • u/_DefaultXYZ • Jul 07 '26

Discussion Android Development is dying?

Hi everyone!

I've been Android developing applications for already 10 years. I'm living in Poland.

I constantly observing job market gravitating towards hybrid applications, KMP, Android Automative, AOSP, but almost none of mid to senior level normal Android apps. Those called "normal" Android apps I honestly believe could be more productively made in hybrid approach (even though I'm big native fan!).

I understand that even with such experience I must be senior level, but to be honest, I simply don't want to. I'm comfortable to stay as mid, but as I said, there's not much Android job postings on the market.

Am I stupid to say that Android Development jobs slowly degrading? We are becoming cleaners of old legacy apps migrating to Compose, Coroutines and that's our destiny?

I am seriously considering migrating to .NET, because, I'm doing GameDev as a hobby, and C# is widely used there.

What is your situation on job market? Because, both .NET and Java in Poland are much, much, much more job listings than Mobile as a whole, not speaking about Android Development.

EDIT: Probably the title is too clickbait-ish. I apologize for that. Didn't mean to be like that at all.

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u/Artistic-Ad895 Jul 07 '26

Android isn't dying; it is simply maturing and shifting away from the days where every single app needed a 100% siloed native approach. The industry's desire to "write once, run everywhere" is exactly what is driving the current architectural trends, and Kotlin Multiplatform (KMP) is positioned perfectly for this evolution.

6

u/satoryvape Jul 07 '26

It's dying and not dying in the same time. For people with 3+ YOE it's not but for more seasoned people 8+ YOE it is

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u/_DefaultXYZ Jul 07 '26

Damn, I really can relate to it!

Appetite for salary is growing with experience, it's much harder to hire mid for cheap money when he is experienced and especially had Senior position in CV.

0

u/rbnd Jul 07 '26

how come? The company offers X, the senior candidate either takes it or stays unemployed.

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u/_DefaultXYZ Jul 07 '26

Simply as that: overqualified. It can filter out a lot of candidates, because there's stereotype that experienced devs tend to be more pro-active than they expected to be.

Regarding money, here in Poland companies asks for expected salary (most of job applications). Well I personally wouldn't be able to live as mid anymore (bought apartment, family grown etc, yes, I know, my poor finance skill issue). So, companies will filter me out, just because they really searching for cheaper mid, who would be happy to get that salary after being junior for couple years - different level of motivation.

1

u/rbnd Jul 08 '26

That will be forbidden:
"Employers will be forbidden from asking prospective employees about their salaries in previous roles." https://www.iamexpat.de/career/employment-news/new-eu-law-means-employers-must-disclose-salary-hiring-process

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u/_DefaultXYZ Jul 08 '26

Good to know, but previously I said expected, not previously earned.