How to Become a Java Developer

How to Become a Java Developer

It doesn’t take long to become a Java specialist as a developer or software engineer. Quality-assurance engineers or Android developers might be able to do well with just the essentials. It might take 12 to 18 months to learn enough Java to get your first job as a Java developer if you start from scratch and devote two to three hours a day to learning Java.

These are some of the essential skills you might want to know to become a Java developer.

What are the essential skills for a java developer?

Java developers might work on Android apps or quality-assurance automation. Depending on the company or industry, a successful java developer might have the following skills:

  • JavaScript
  • Java virtual machine and memory management
  • Java and major frameworks, such as Git, Hibernate and Spring.
  • Java and SQL and databases
  • Java and APIs and libraries
  • Java and testing and build tools
  • Java and Android software development kit (SDK)
  • JavaServer pages and servlets
  • Service-oriented architecture or web services
  • HTML and CSS
  • JQuery
  • Markup languages, such as XML and JSON
  • Constructors
  • File IO and serialization
  • Abstract classes and interfaces
  • Collections: Lists, maps and sets
  • Access specifiers
  • Exceptions
  • Generics
  • Multi-threading and sync
  • Dependency injection

Java developers should have “core” knowledge of common Java types, objects, constructions, libraries and frameworks. An understanding of database access, networking and security can also be helpful.

Senior Java developers should have advanced skills in Amazon Web Services, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Hadoop, script framework, and other programming languages.

How much Java should an Android developer know?

Android developers should know “core” Java. Other essential technologies include XML, SDK, IDE, APIs, and an understanding of databases.

How much Java should a QA engineer know?

Quality-assurance engineers should be fluent in Java, especially object-oriented programming, collection and file operations, and work with testing libraries like JUnit.

QA developers should be familiar with IntelliJ IDEA or other integrated development environments. Some common technologies include:

  • HTML and CSS
  • Selenium RC or WebDriver framework
  • Page object model
  • SQL

Conclusion

You can learn how to become a Java developer online with hands-on tutorials, such as CodeGym.cc., Codecademy and FreeCodeCamp. The websites cover all aspects of Java and can help you quickly build foundational knowledge in the programming language. With consistency, you could learn enough Java to find a first job as a Java developer in as little as 12 months.

This article was written by John Selawsky for HackerNoon and was lightly edited and published with permission.