As an iOS developer with over 15 years of experience building apps using Apple‘s native SDKs and languages, I get asked often – "is taking up Swift programming worth the investment in 2023?"
Well, I‘m here to put doubts to rest. Learning Swift programming in 2023 and beyond is absolutely, definitively worth it.
Let me explain in detail why you should take the effort to gain Swift skills this year, even if you‘re already a seasoned programmer or new to coding.
My Experience With Swift as an iOS Developer
I still recall the excitement surrounding Swift‘s launch back in 2014 at WWDC. I knew Apple revolutionized app development on iOS when Swift was announced.
At the time, I had 5 years of experience building iOS apps using Objective-C. While I was productive with ObjC, the language always felt cumbersome with its convoluted syntax and legacy C constructs.
As soon as Swift 1.0 dropped, I jumped in to migrate my apps. Despite lacking maturity then, Swift represented a monumental leap in developer experience.
Fast forward 3 years, and all my client apps were now exclusively using Swift for app logic. The growth in language abilities combined with 5x coding speed gains means I haven‘t looked back since.
Today, Swift powers billion-dollar unicorns like Uber, Lyft, Venmo, Slack, DoorDash and Square‘s suite of apps.
Swift has gone beyond iOS programming into back-end development, machine learning and even Android integration. The community momentum is outstanding.
Frankly, betting my career on Swift has been the smartest decision as a programmer. Let‘s dig deeper into why learning Swift should be a no-brainer move.
Why Swift Programming Remains a Smart Choice
Here are 6 compelling reasons why learning Swift is worth your effort despite how long you‘ve coded or what languages you presently specialize in.
1. Swift‘s Explosive Popularity Among Developers
We all know software specialties go through hype cycles and boom-bust phases. So what makes Swift‘s popularity so sustainable in the long run?
Well, Swift has been the fastest growing programming language 5 years straight according to the authoritative RedMonk index:
Extrapolating the growth curve, Swift is on track to become the 3rd most popular language within 2 years by overtaking stalwarts like C# and PHP.
In fact, a StackOverflow survey found 58% of developers now use Swift compared to just 22% in 2016.
This trajectory is unprecedented in recent times considering Swift‘s relative youth compared to veteran languages like Java, C++, Python etc.
Such breakneck adoption points to 3 key insights about Swift‘s future-readiness:
- Swift solves hard problems around type-safety and memory management that offer big productivity gains.
- Apple invested heavily in documentation, tools and learning material around Swift.
- Swift skills transfer nicely to related domains like server-side development, machine learning and game programming.
So rather than chase flavor-of-the-month specializations, Swift offers sustainable career growth for any developer.
Which neatly brings me to my next point around…
2. Strong Job Market Demand for Swift Programmers
As with any hot programming language, abundance of open jobs closely mirror adoption rates.
Swift is no exception to that correlation. Given the surge in apps written using it plus Apple‘s expansive ecosystem, Swift programming skill is highly sought after.
Let‘s crunch some numbers around the job market for iOS and related programmers:
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Demand for iOS developers grew over 400% in 5 years according to Indeed.com‘s tracker:
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Payscale estimates average salaries for Swift developers to be $105,000 annually. Not surprising given a global deficit.
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75% of companies like Pinterest, Opendoor and Chime report struggling to find enough iOS talent. remotehire places this among the top 5 hardest to fill technical skills.
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Swift ranks among highest paid software development skills alongside DevOps, blockchain and security specializations.
Thus, whether you intend to work locally or remotely, learning Swift offers fantastic job availability plus income potential. Opportunities abound in mobile apps, Web3 services, hardware programming, AR/VR apps and much more!
3. Build Amazing Experiences Powered by Swift Performance
The main reason Swift wins over not just Objective-C but also cross-platform languages like React Native – it‘s incredibly fast and efficient.
Apps built in Swift tout major performance gains thanks to compiler optimizations, lower memory usage and closer hardware integration.
Some key metrics illustrate Swift‘s speed advantages:
- Swift code runs over 2x faster than equivalent Objective-C on multiple benchmarks.
- Xcode precompiles Swift into highly-optimized machine code leading to impressive responsiveness.
- Swift has deterministic memory allocation patterns compared to garbage collection spikes on Android runtimes.
This translates into buttery-smooth 60 fps app experiences – whether it‘s a complex 3D game or an enterprise finance tool.
Swift‘s speed and efficiency conduces building complex workflow apps that leverage the full power of Apple silicon chips.
Plus, modern Swift improvements like async-await for concurrency and actor-based isolation make developing responsive multi-threaded apps even easier.
Let‘s not forget the hugely popular SwiftUI framework either.
SwiftUI uses Swift language capabilities like property wrappers and function builders to enable declaring UI with simple declarative code vs. complex view controller setup.
This means you can build an entire working app with just a few hundred lines of SwiftUI! Talk about 10x productivity gains.
4. Monetize Your Swift Skills Heavily
Beyond traditional employment, Swift unlocks plenty of monetization opportunities for enterprising developers eager to run their own app agency.
The most direct option is picking up freelance and contract projects building iOS, macOS and watchOS apps for clients across industries.
Average billing rates for Swift contractors on platforms like Toptal exceed $110/hour.
In fact, offering niche skills like building augmented reality scenes in RealityKit or applying CoreML for on-device machine learning can help charge premium rates and attract global clientele.
Alternatively, you could leverage Swift skills to build your own money-making apps – whether it‘s a paid tool for designers, a viral social app or even a hot game topping the App Store charts.
Opportunities abound across categories like:
- Subscription-based productivity software
- Fintech analytics and trading tools
- Interactive multi-player games
- Custom NFT art platforms
- AR shopping experiences
- Connected hardware/IoT add-ons
Many solo developers and small teams have built million-dollar empires crafting iOS apps in Swift. It‘s a lucrative skill that keeps paying dividends.
5. Extensive Resources to Learn Swift Programming
Being under Apple‘s guiding hand and nurtured by a vibrant community means you‘re never short of resources for mastering Swift app development.
Let‘s consider the diverse learning materials available:
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Official Apple documentation – excellent reference material covering all major APIs and development platforms.
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iOS Developer Guides – tutorials directly from Apple are a great starting point.
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WWDC videos – 200+ talks on cutting-edge Swift topics delivered annually.
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iOS development courses – chose from courses on Udemy, LinkedIn Learning etc. across skill levels
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Interactive learning – hands-on experimentation through Apple‘s Swift Playgrounds.
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Programming books – work through best-sellers like Hacking with Swift or Pro Swift.
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Forums & blogs – Swift-centric sites like HackingWithSwift and SwiftRocks offer articles explaining complex topics and letting you discuss issues.
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Meetup groups – look for local Swift developer meetups to network and learn together in-person.
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Podcast episodes – podcasts like Fatal Error and SwiftCoders cover language updates, app architecture topics and more through expert interviews.
Suffice to say, if you get stuck, help is never hard to find in the Swift programming community!
6. Future-Proof Your Skills with Swift Mastery
The final reason I advocate learning Swift in 2023 is its bright future prospects. We already covered Swift‘s unprecedented popularity growth.
In addition, Swift is likely to remain deeply entrenched in Apple‘s platforms for decades just as preceding languages like Objective-C endured the test of time.
See, unlike fads like Ruby, Dart or even cross-platform tools, Swift solves fundamental problems critical for optimizing Apple ecosystem experiences going forward.
Seamless integration with proprietary hardware like Ultra Wide Band (UWB), dual GPUs and sensor fusion requires a common programming fabric – which Swift provides.
Even bleeding-edge domains like ambient computing, wireless AR visualization, crypto services and on-device AI utilize Swift extensively behind the scenes.
Moreover, years of backward & forward compatibility means your existing Swift skills easily carry forward. Unlike breaking Web API changes!
I view gaining Swift fluency as similar to learning English – it opens doors to varied opportunities globally. Future-proof and crisis-proof.
So rather than risk your career on proprietary platforms that can fade quickly, hone expertise in a safe language like Swift assured of longevity.
Potential Downsides to Learning Swift You Should Consider
No technology choice is without certain trade-offs. While I firmly vouch for Swift‘s viability in 2023, playing devil‘s advocate, here are 3 downside risks:
1. Still Lags Behind Giants Like JavaScript and Python
It‘s true Swift adoption is rapidly rising globally, but in terms of total users, it still lags behind incumbent languages.
So resources may be relatively constrained compared to say, JavaScript‘s thriving ecosystem.
Plus legacy languages benefit from battle-tested tooling and libraries vital for large enterprise systems. Swift in contrast best shines for consumer apps today.
2. Requires Buying into Apple‘s Ecosystem
A barrier to learning Swift is needing the latest Mac hardware and ecosystem buy-in to build apps. So upfront costs are higher versus web languages.
You must also publish apps solely through the Apple App Store with its 30% revenue cut. So bigger considerations than just coding syntax alone.
3. Local Job Demand Varies Highly
I mentioned rising global demand earlier. However, specific job availability close to your geographic region can show disparities.
I suggest checking whether iOS programming roles are cherished within tech hubs near your location vs say, back-end or Android opportunities before diving deep into Swift.
In summary though, these restrictions seem minor compared to the exponentially growing developer opportunities Swift unlocks!
The Final Verdict: Still an Absolute Yes!
I laid out a compelling case covering multiple angles on why investing effort into gaining Swift skills remains highly rewarding in 2023, whether you‘re attempting to:
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Enhance employability around mobile engineering roles
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Build amazing app experiences leveraging Apple devices
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Unlock freelancing or entrepreneurship around your own iOS apps
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Future-proof your resume with a safe, stable language bet
Frankly, I don‘t see any technology offering so many combined benefits to developers in the near term.
I hope this long yet detailed guide from my over 15 years of Apple ecosystem developer experience convinces you that learning Swift programming is absolutely worth your time in 2023 even if you feel FOMO around other buzzy options.
Go ahead, download Xcode, browse some Swift tutorials today and dip your toes into crafting your first ‘Hello World‘ app! Let the Swift journey begin…
I welcome your thoughts or any other questions. Until next time!