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Brief Guide: What Skills and Duties Do Java Juniors need? Career Prospects for Java Juniors

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Whether you are just starting to learn Java or about finishing the course, you are likely to know your prospects, duties, and skills as a “green” Java specialist. Brief Guide: What Skills and Duties Do Java Juniors need? Career Prospects for Java Juniors - 1No denying, a career as a Java developer is very rewarding since you may get excellent job prospects across different sectors. You may be responsible for designing and testing during the whole software development cycle. You may become a backend developer, frontend developer, technology stack, full-stack developer, or Android developer… the options are really vast. And the article What can I do after I learn Java? A guide for the greenest newbie software developers can help you to find out more about a career as a Java Junior and help you decide whether you want to pursue this profession or not. Yet, what does it mean to “learn Java”?

Java Developer Kit

It’s essential to highlight some must-have skills required for Java Juniors and explain what they do. So, what are the main duties of Java devs, and what should they learn first and foremost? Basically, the primary responsibilities of Java Juniors include:
  • Development. Needless to say, the development process is one of the main duties of Java specialists — they should be able to write the code and build apps or websites as per the customer's requirements.

  • Testing. When the project is completed, Java specialists need to test it and fix the errors that occurred during the process. In other words, you should be able to make sure that each feature works smoothly.

  • System optimization. Be ready that most Java Juniors should be responsible for maintaining active systems, enhancing them, and providing software updates.

  • Collaboration with other departments. Most likely, you’ll work in a large team and collaborate with your co-workers as well as clients to create integrated software systems. That’s why good communication skills (both written and verbal) can set you above the rest of the candidates when applying for the job.

All that just being said, to get your foot in the door as a Java specialist, you need to have a set of essential skills. So what does Java Developer Kit include? The following articles can help you get a comprehensive answer to this question:

How to Grow from Junior to Senior

Be ready that after you start in a junior programming spot, you’ll remain there for about four years. As already mentioned, the main duties will include coding, debugging, reviewing code, and some technical documentation. All these duties and some more, you can find in our article What It’s Like to be a Junior Developer. A Short Guide. You should also be ready to go beyond writing code. It’s a pretty common mistake when fresh Java developers ignore everything else but jump to code only. Actually, writing a code is just a part of the bigger process and there are lots of other parts that are quite important, too. If you want to move ahead and don’t get stuck at your Junior positions for long years, you need to participate in architecting and designing as well. After a while, you’ll need to match the technical solutions to business needs, too. Flexibility is one of the best attributes of expert developers. Also, try to observe and learn once you have landed your first job. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to suck as much information as possible. It’s also a good idea to observe how your team members interact with each other, regardless of whether they are Junior devs like you or Senior devs that may mentor you. And, again, never stop learning — get familiar with an IDE, try to write more maintainable and clean code, find out how version-control software works, etc. By following these tips, you’ll grow into a Middle Java specialist as quickly as possible. And at that spot, you may be interested in What It’s Like to be a Mid-Level Developer. A Short Guide to the Role. In brief, it’s not all about code. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with working on standard tasks, fixing bugs, and contributing to the codebases as a Middle dev. But after a few years in software engineering, you will also be able to understand all the workflows and processes. Additionally, you are likely to understand common design patterns and KISS (Keep It Stupid Simple), DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself), and SOLID principles. At this stage, you may also be interested in trying out other programming languages or frameworks to enhance your skills and experience. If you really put effort, then one day you’ll definitely become a Senior Java Dev. What to expect in this role? Our article What It’s Like to Be a Senior Developer. A Short Guide to the Role reveals all the secrets. You may be surprised that Seniors are not only writing perfect code but also mentoring Juniors and Middles to build a solid team. They care for performance, and one of the most valuable skills of Senior developers are strong social skills. Seniors know that working in IT is not just about communicating with the computer in front of you. It’s also about communicating with people surrounding you. So, how much time you may need to become a Senior Java developer? This and other questions are covered here: Junior → Senior. How Many Years Do You Need to Become a Senior Java Developer. Hopefully, all these CodeGym guides with useful tips and hints will help you skyrocket your career. And who knows, probably in a couple of years we’ll read your own article with your way from Junior to Senior in our Success Stories. Brief Guide: What Skills and Duties Do Java Juniors need? Career Prospects for Java Juniors - 2
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