It may sound a bit like an imaginary problem, but picking a programming language to start learning as a total beginner in coding is not such an easy task, as there are so many different languages with their own communities, pros and cons, and a number of staunch advocates convincing you to join them not the others.
Making the right choice is especially important if you are a beginner because it will have a long-lasting effect on your professional career, following the successful completion of learning obviously.
As you might know, we at CodeGym tend to believe quite strongly that Java is the ultimate right choice for anyone who wants to get into programming as a profession, and starts from scratch. Why? Because Java has a number of strengths and advantages (compared to other programming languages), which make it such a great language for beginners.
Today we are going to take a quick look at some of the major advantages of Java, as knowing them might help you to make an informed decision when picking a coding language to learn.
1. Java is (relatively!) easy to learn
Yes, we realize that in reality learning how to code in Java most likely won’t be on a list of things you mastered quickly and painlessly in a few weeks. But Java is easy to learn in comparison to the majority of other programming languages, as it was originally designed to be as simple as possible and easy to write, debug, compile, etc. Simplicity is definitely one of the core Java’s advantages.
2. Java is popular and in great demand
From a career point of view, it is another major advantage, especially when we are talking about starting your career in coding from scratch.
According to the latest State of The Developer Nation report by
Slashdata, there are more than 8 mln Java developers over there in the world, which is one of the reasons (along with Java’s technical features and qualities) why companies around the world are choosing Java to write their products, creating a never-ending and continuously increasing demand for Java coders.
This is important for two reasons: first, it’ll be easy for you to find your first coding job; and second, even if you decide to change your job at some point, most likely you won’t stay unemployed for very long.
3. Java developers are paid well
Combined with the fact that salaries of Java developers are objectively high (especially when compared to average salaries across all the industries combined), it means that a decent Java coder will have a considerable and steady income flow for life (or at least for the next couple decades).
Let’s refresh the numbers, shall we?
According to PayScale, the average salary for a Java developer in the U.S. is $74,300 per year, with an average salary range of $50k to $105k per year.
Glassdoor’s numbers are even higher at $74,100 per year as an average salary ranging from $57k to $117k per year. Not bad, right? And this is the data for regular Java developers. A Senior Java coder would reasonably expect to have an additional $25-30k to the annual wage.
Java coders are making good money in Europe too. The
average salary for a Java Developer in Germany is almost €49,000 a year, while Java Seniors are
making more than €62,000. In the United Kingdom,
according to this data, Java devs are making an average of €53-85k a year, in Spain, the average salary is €27-45k, while
in the Netherlands it’s €30-64k.
4. Java is object-oriented
When it comes to the technical side of Java as a programming language, it sure has lots of strengths as well. Being object-oriented is one of the main Java’s advantages. To cut it short (since Java really has lots of other advantages to brag about), being object-oriented allows Java developers to create modular programs with reusable code, pieces of which can be later used in other projects, saving developers time and ultimately reducing the development costs.
5. Java is platform-independent
Being platform-independent is Java’s other major strength. It basically means that programs in Java can be easily ported from one platform to another, allowing you to run the same code with minor changes on a number of different systems. Which, again, leads to lower costs and easier development process, resulting in the majority of big companies choosing Java over the alternatives as the main backend development language.
6. Java is secure
Another wide topic worth a whole separate article (
that we already have of course) is security. There’s a number of reasons to call Java a secure programming language, although saying Java is more secure compared to a number of other languages would be the proper way to put it since these features don’t actually make Java absolutely secure, they just mainly improve the safeness of Java code execution. Bytecode verification, automated memory management, and Java compiler’s automated code checking for errors are among the main reasons Java is being called a secure language, which, you guessed it, is another reason this language is so popular among businesses, especially in the enterprise field.
7. Java is essential to a number of hot and trending tech niches
Java is widely used in a number of hot tech niches supposedly having a big future ahead, like artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of things (IoT), Big Data, cloud computing, and even blockchain. Each of them has a long way ahead with applications in multiple various fields and industries. This fact gives Java a number of additional advantages (as if it needs more of those). Java coders are able to choose a niche they find the most interesting and exciting and get familiar with it while earning a very decent wage. They also can be sure this experience, which they will get while working in this niche, will be useful and applicable in the years to come, providing them with literally countless career opportunities.
Summary
As you can see, Java has so many advantages it is kind of tricky to squeeze them all into one piece. Of course, nothing is perfect in this world, and Java has its fair share of cons like any other programming language or technology. All we wanted to accomplish in this piece is to explain why we consider Java, not some other language, to be the one to start learning, and worth devoting such an amazing course as CodeGym to. And why it would be such a good skill for the start of a fresh career in software development.
Which of the above-mentioned advantages can be titled as the most important one?
Are there any significant strengths of Java that we haven’t mentioned today? Tell us what you think in the comments below!
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