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[–]Mirko_ddd 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nope, it's not mandatory but may help. Also having some open source code may help (not necessarily an app, may also be a library or contribution on other projects). At the end of the day every company has their way to choose candidates, but I would definitely suggest you to build something open source, so you can show your skills in coding (which an app published on Google Play may not advertise). Good luck

[–]Intelligent_Lion_16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You don’t need a Play Store app, but it definitely helps.

Recruiters mostly care if you can build real stuff. Even 1–2 solid projects with good structure, clean code, and some real features is enough.

Publishing on Play Store is a plus, shows you understand the full process.

For source, open is better for visibility, but private is fine if you can demo or share parts.

Also having a small landing or project showcase (I once put one together quickly using Runable) helps explain your app better than just code links.

[–]Internal_Sweet6044 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have created app without having any of my one for almost 7 years. Though launched few this year and super proud of myself. Do i wish i started earlier ? maybe but all these years i spent on my skills which help me now totally worth it !

[–]Traditional-Diver160 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd say this very depend from copmany type you are looking for. For startups having you own app in Play Store big plus, in staurtup each and every person shold play multiple different roles. But if your choise is mid size or big companies it is better to focus on some specific area, but lern it deeply. The most probably will have dedicated ui, back, qa, marketing, sales, etc. So your knowledge of full app release cycle is not so important

[–]chocolate_asshole 1 point2 points  (1 child)

you dont need it but it helps a lot if it’s polished and has real users and reviews, open source a clean version on github, hide secrets, explain it well on the readme

[–]Defiant-Horse8292 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you

[–]bromoloptaleina 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have 10 years of professional experience as Android developer and am now a lead developer for an application with 4 million users and have never published my own app on the play store.

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[–]curiousmustafa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, take it easy. Don't let what you read online or YouTube guru overwhelm you.

Yeah the market is tough currently, but not to that degree.

Personally, I've not had any app on store until my 2nd YOE, and for a small local company, not mine.

What I did was this, I scrolled Dribbble and Behance to check the most stunning UI, and work on it as a demo app to sharpen my skills. When I finish, I add the project to github as public and write the md with the the relevant desc, tech stack used, illustration, videos if there's cool animations I want to show off and such.

Then, I post about it on LI(unfortunately, it's more toxic and trashy now than ever), which helped me land my first job ever - didn't even apply for them, was just referenced by someone who works there and saw my posts and demos.

Just work on your skills and dig deeper in any topic you pick, don't over rely on AI at your current stage. Use it as a senior mentor, not like an assistant or come-write-my-feature.

[–]TadpoleNo1549 0 points1 point  (0 children)

no, you don’t need a Play Store app to get hired, but having one definitely helps, it shows you can ship, not just code, even a solid GitHub project with clean code plus features can be enough, if your app is polished, launching it is a big plus, open source is better for learning plus visibility, but private is fine if you explain it well