Freelance iOS Developer
This engagement marked a pivotal career transition from robotics and embedded systems to mobile development. Khaled built an iPad application for a German financial services company that displayed stock market analysis and buy/sell recommendations through heavily customized charts. While the project lasted four months contractually, the active development phase spanned four to six weeks. The successful delivery validated that self-taught iOS skills from online courses could translate to paid professional work, directly enabling his subsequent hire at CatchSmart just one to two months later.
Why I Joined
First opportunity to prove self-taught iOS skills from Udemy courses could deliver real client value
- •Designed and developed an iPad application for stock market analysis and buy/sell recommendation display using Swift 3 and UIKit
- •Implemented heavily customized financial charts using CocoaPods charting libraries modified to meet specific client visualization requirements
- •Built responsive layouts supporting both portrait and landscape orientations with appropriate chart resizing and reflow
- •Integrated REST APIs connecting to the client's backend for real-time financial data retrieval and display
- •Managed client communication and project delivery through the Upwork platform
- ✓Successfully delivered first professional iOS application, validating the transition from self-taught online learning to paid client work
- ✓Implemented complex financial chart customization using CocoaPods libraries, demonstrating ability to modify third-party components for specific client requirements
- ✓Completed project within budget at $450, establishing entry into the European freelance market through a German client
- ✓Project success directly enabled hire at CatchSmart as iOS Developer within 1-2 months of completion
Technology Stack
Situation
Khaled had decided to pivot his career from robotics and embedded systems to mobile development. After learning iOS development through Udemy courses and building portfolio projects, he needed to prove these self-taught skills could deliver real client value in the professional market.
Task
Deliver a functional iPad application for a German financial services company that would display stock market analysis and buy/sell recommendations through customized charts.
Action
Khaled took on the project through Upwork, his first paid iOS client engagement. He implemented the application using Swift 3 with UIKit and Storyboards, heavily customizing a CocoaPods charting library to meet the client's specific visualization requirements. He tackled the complexity of supporting both portrait and landscape orientations with properly resizing charts, and integrated the client's REST API for financial data. Despite being self-assessed as having 'very beginner' code structure, he focused on delivering a working solution that met the client's needs.
Result
The project completed successfully with a satisfied client. More importantly, this $450 engagement validated Khaled's career pivot to iOS development and directly enabled his hire at CatchSmart as an iOS Developer just one to two months later, launching his professional mobile development career.
Size: 1 people
Structure: Individual contractor
Reported to: Client Project Manager
0Skills Gained
Skills Deepened
- 💡Self-taught skills from online platforms like Udemy can translate directly to professional client work
- 💡Chart customization for financial applications requires deep understanding of visualization library internals
- 💡Supporting multiple device orientations adds significant complexity to layout implementation