What Common Requirements Do Companies Have for Junior Java Developers? What is the Minimal Skillset?

Let’s start with the basics. Why is the Junior Java developer position cool? The answer is simple – Junior Java developers are those entry-level programmers who can already earn good money while having a quite basic skill set. With that, they have an amazing opportunity to learn from Senior devs and team leads and become experts eventually. Is the demand for Junior devs high? Certainly! Compared to the majority of other jobs, Junior Java developers have a "much-faster-than-average" growth rate making 13% between the years 2018-2028 (according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Hence, the number of Junior Java developer job openings is predicted to increase up to 20,900 by 2028. So, it’s probably the best time to start your coding career.

What Junior Java Developers Actually Do?

At the start of their career, Junior Java developers typically need to write efficient and stable code, conduct software analysis, run tests to find bugs, migrate code and data, ensure the application is integrated with the other company’s developments, and many more. They can work on both front-end and back-end projects. Yet, all this comes down to the primary task — building and maintaining an application. And during its lifecycle, the main responsibilities of Junior Java Developers typically include:

• Write code that should be easy to maintain.
• Improve and enhance code.
• Perform troubleshooting (find and correct minor bugs and errors in code).
• Work on the admin side of tools.
• Know the codebase and work with it.
• Work on the features set by Senior developers.
• Participate in the testing process and documentation progress.
• Analyze the tech requirements of the projects.
• Work along with a team and visit meetings.
• Draw up reports and other types of documents.
• Collect users’ feedback.

These are the most common duties of a Junior Java specialist, yet you should also be ready to get involved in all project stages and work under supervision. As an experienced Junior Java dev, you may even have to meet with clients to review their preferences and provide a piece of advice. And, as you have probably guessed, your soft skills will also play a crucial role here.

Open Job Positions in India

Do you know that India is the leading sourcing destination in the world, with approximately 55% market share of more than $250 billion in global services? And it’s expected that IT spending in India will increase up to $101.8 billion this year compared to $81.89 billion in 2021. Moreover, India is expected to have a digital economy of $1 trillion by 2025. Nowadays, the Indian IT industry covers IT services, IT-enabled services, e-commerce, as well as software and hardware products. In addition, the IT sphere in India includes government services (health services, educational information, consumer rights, and services, etc.). In other words, IT is the backbone for the Indian economy to prosper and generate millions of jobs. And if you look through the top Indian and global employment websites, you’ll find numerous job listings for Junior Java Developers. According to Monster, there are currently more than 400 Junior Java Developer Jobs; Glassdoor lists about 1,500.00 job offerings, whereas Indeed has over 2,000.00 job openings. Yet, the king here is definitely Naukri.com, with more than 37,000.00 job openings for Junior Java Developers only. The top companies looking for Junior Java Developers are ThyssenKrupp Materials IT Services India Pvt. Ltd, Iris software, Accenture, Infosys Technologies, IBM India, Dell Internationa, Oracle, TCS, United Health Group, Iris software, Cueserve, Agiloft, eMudhra, Talent Basket, Internet Research Bureau, NCS SoftSolutions, Kuruvila Technologies Private Limited, Pushkal It, and many more.

Junior Java Developers’ Salaries in India

For most workers, salary is one of the main criteria for choosing a job. Sure, we’re not saying that financial compensation is the only reason to choose software development as a profession, but nobody can deny that money is a tremendous driving force and motivation for self-development. Now, let’s check how much you can earn as a Junior Java dev. According to Indeed, an average Junior Java developer in India makes ₹21,503 per month, which equals ₹3,03,701 per year with top companies like Orange Business Services. And CRB Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd offers more than ₹5,00,000 per year. Sounds tempting!

Requirements For a Junior Developer in India

Also, it would be a nice idea to get familiar with employers’ requirements for candidates in India. Of course, the expectations may vary from company to company, but an average skillset is as follows:

• Strong knowledge of Java, including syntax, collections, and multithreading.
• Deep understanding of OO programming principles and commitment to clean, efficient code.
• Experience in J2EE, JSP, Servlets, Java Script, JQuery, HTML, Spring Boot, Spring, and Hibernate.
• An understanding of database concepts (MySQL).
• Experience in IDE like Eclipse, NetBeans, Maven, IntelliJ, etc.
• A firm grasp of version-control systems and services, like GitHub or GitLab.
• API Integration, algorithms, and design patterns.
• An understanding of web project frameworks, enterprise frameworks, and unit testing tools is desirable.
• Basic-level hands-on experience in programming.
• Knowledge of version control tools.
• Good experience in SQL/Oracle.
• Complete understanding of application development life cycle.

As preferred skills, Indian companies often list:

• Ability to learn new software and technologies quickly.
• Good communication skills.
• Strong problem-solving skills and quick decision-making abilities.

Can Online Courses Help with Acquiring the Essential Skills?

Online Java courses is now one of the most preferred ways of learning. And it’s easy to see why. Not only are they much more affordable compared to college but also much more flexible and interactive. For instance, the fresh "Java Developer Profession” course is extremely engaging and informative as it’s designed with the latest teaching techniques like gamification, storytelling, and visualization. The course includes regular lessons with a mentor of increasing complexity with instant verification of your homework , so that you can get a review and valuable suggestions at every stage. Plus, the course has chat-based support. What skills does this 12-month course offer? Java Developer Profession course content

Conclusion

As you see, “Java Developer Profession” course covers most of the requirements. During modules 1, 2, and 3 you’ll get a strong grasp of Java Syntax and Java Core and knowledge of useful developer's tools such as Maven, JUnit5, TomCat, and others, whereas modules 3, 4 and 5 will help you understand Databases, Hibernate, frameworks Spring and Spring Boot. After finishing the course, you’ll have your first real experience to add to your portfolio. The key is to keep yourself passionate and motivated about your future career. As they say, ‘To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone”. CodeGym can definitely become your backbone, so why not start building it ASAP?