Many highschoolers are interested in computer science, but few are able to take the first step in entering the field. Kwong has broken into this realm through the world of app design.
Starting out as a way to solve problems, Kwong has built his skills and experience into a substantial side-gig.
“When school is busy, I usually won’t take on any new apps. I’ll just focus on school until I get it done,” Kwong said.
At school, coding is taught where a line of code, known as an input, is entered into the computer via a text prompt. However, Kwong’s work focuses on creating a graphical user interface, known as a GUI, where users can interact with it through buttons and other features.
“What I’m doing right now is enough to make a stable income,” Kwong said. “I can definitely see myself doing this in the future.”
Kwong’s first project involved coding a benchmark program that measures the performance of a graphics processing unit, otherwise known as a GPU, and Kwong’s projects have increased in difficulty since then. This has allowed him to gain experience through creating many apps, ranging in purpose.
“I learned to make apps by coding a lot of them over time. When I see a problem, I’ll make an app to solve it,” Kwong said. “And if there’s something I don’t know, I just Google it.”
The process of making apps differs based on the difficulty of the function. Simple apps can be finished with ease, but more difficult ones require planning. Those with complex functions require drawing out the architecture of the apps and then building the functions on top of that. His knowledge of coding languages are extensive, as he is knowledgeable in C#, Swift, C++, Python, and Java.
“There’s this Vancouver, Washington based magazine company that sells magazines to doctor’s offices and therapy places. They had 100,000 dollar sales, but a really bad mechanism to store the invoices. To manage it easily, I coded an app that allows them to manage it,” Kwong said.
The projects have only gotten bigger, with one of his recent feats consisting of coding an app for parking systems at the Port of Seattle.
“The hardest app I made was for license plate recognition. When cars come in, you have to calculate how long they are there to see how much they are going to pay,” Kwong said. “So in that parking lot, they have a camera-like device that comes in and scans the cars and inputs the images into a server. And the server will recognize the license plates and then send the invoices to pay.”
To find clientele, family members and their coworkers are some of the most valuable resources in finding a new project to pursue. This, in combination with word of mouth referrals, has allowed him to bring in over five-figures of income.
Kwong intends to continue creating apps throughout high school and college, as well as pursuing a career within computer science.
“I got into this because it was fun to solve problems, gain experience with different platforms, and the money is good. So I got totally hooked,” Kwong said.
