Web dev or mobile game app dev? Which one is a better fit for me?

#1

Hi,

I’m 21. I like both web dev/mobile game appdev equally. Which one is better for me considering these limits:

  1. I can only spend 2-3 hours a day on screens (mobile/computer etc)
  2. I don’t want any interaction with people other than maybe text messaging/email
  3. Something that doesn’t require a lot of investment in money (investment in time is ok)
  4. Something I can do entirely from home.
  5. Also something that’s scalable.

Which one has the potential to make more money despite these considerations?
EDIT: I also want to be my own boss, so no freelancing/consulting

Thanks for your answers

#2

If you can only work 2-3 hours a day, that will severely limit who will hire you.

Coding involves coordination with other people - coordination with clients, coordination with co-workers, etc, so I don’t know how realistic this is either.

Both types of development cost the same in terms of materials (a computer).

You can definitely do coding work from home, but this does require a lot of communication and coordination.

I am not sure what you mean by this.

With these limitations, I don’t know how realistic it is to find someone to pay you to write software. Even with freelancing, 2-3 hours a day would be pretty slow, and clients would expect communication.

Addressing your edit: If you want to be your own boss, you will need to invest far, far more time, money, and communication with other people than you have indicated you are willing to do. Startups require a lot of time (>> 2 or 3 hours a day on a screen), a lot of communication (face to face, video chat, email, and lots of it), and a lot of capital (big investments in money, and lots of talking to people to get that money).

I’m pretty sure your constraints make your end goal essentially impossible. I recommend modifying your goal, your constraints, or both.

1 Like
#3

Welcome back!

I’m no pro, but I would say web dev and my reasoning is below.

  1. I think that it is easier to jump in and out of rather than mobile development/game development because mobile/game you are probably going to end up working with people and you don’t get to decide your schedule 100% of the time.
  2. I think that web is probably easier to know the full stack rather than trying to learn all of the components of a game or features/integrations of a phone/mobile dev.
  3. You don’t have to maintain a publishing license for web development unless you are self-hosting really. But like iOS development incurs a yearly fee for publishing your apps. I think there are several places where you can host things for free on the web if you are really that strapped for cash.
  4. This is a wash between the two.
  5. what do you mean by scalable? Both allow you to build something and then reuse to build bigger/better/more things.

Both can be lucrative, but given your restrictions, I don’t think that you will find either role very rewarding. When it comes to finding a job, usually employers look for passion and if you are only spending 2-3 hours per day at it it clearly isn’t your passion.

So getting hired might be a big challenge. The other option is working for yourself and doing freelance work - but that requires a BUNCH of time (which you say you are fine with - just not in front of a screen). To me it sounds like you have already made up your mind that you don’t want to be either one.

If that is not the case, I’m pretty sure that you are going to have to lift some of your restrictions and make some sacrifices. If you are going to consider lifting any one of these things, I would recommend the screen-time restriction because developers basically live on a screen. :slight_smile:

#4

I’m just going to add that if you are inexperienced (which I’m assuming at age 21 you don’t have too much experience) then the last thing you want to do is put a bunch of restrictions on yourself like this if you want to succeed in web development. These are the types of demands a seasoned developer may be able to get away with, but if you are just starting out then you are really narrowing your range of options here. You may be lucky enough to find something that meets all your demands but don’t be surprised if you have to sacrifice money and quality of work for it.

1 Like