[Apocryphon]

This article really does bring up a valid point about the career path for mobile does seem undefined. How is one expected to advance into principal / staff as a mobile developer? While to do so as a backend dev, whose code affects all downstream, is much more clear.

[tadfisher]

I mean, they're mostly correct, but it's not like you have to be a "pure Android developer". I contribute to our backend all the time, but my primary role is still Android, and I hit staff pretty quickly. The mindset that you can only contribute to your functional domain is what keeps you from a staff position, and if you work at a place that doesn't share this mindset, there are always ways to contribute outside of your primary domain. It doesn't have to be code, either, and mobile engineers at the staff level should have pretty wide-ranging exposure to design, product management, systems architecture, etc.