Why You Should Learn Java in 2023

Learning how to code might be slightly scary for newcomers. It’s not easy to stay cool and smash along millions of programmers with zero experience and an intangible idea of your goals and career. Would your education be intense? Yes! Would it be tough? Sometimes. Is it too late to try? Definitely, it is not.

Ok, I want to be a software developer. What should I do first?

First reasonable step is a choice of proper technologies and programming language to start with and to have a good job in the future. If you google what language is the best, you’ll face many controversial opinions. Every developer tries to “push” you their own choice, it’s typical for human psychology. Anyway, there’s no such thing as “the best language in the Universe”, because different languages serve different purposes. There are at least half a dozen programming languages in the highest positions of different rankings for years. According to TIOBE Programming Community ranking, Java keeps the place in the top 3 languages with the largest number of searches through the most popular search engines. It is accompanied by C, Python, and C++ languages. As for GitHub’s Octoverse ranking, the top three most popular languages of all time are Javascript, Java, and Python.

Why Java is so popular and why I should learn it

Well, Java IS extremely popular, but not the only popular language in the world. Now you’re probably thinking: “why exactly do I need Java of all options”? As we told before, there is no programming language with unchallenged authority. Still, you can choose easely, if you analyze the long-term benefits of mastering a certain language. Let’s try to get what makes Java so popular and why to learn it is a good point.

Java is beginner friendly

You definitely can find languages that initially are easier than Java. First of all, it’s Python, a language with concise and understandable syntax. However there are more real-world tasks that are easier to solve in Java than in Python. Java is easy to learn because it is relatively high-level. This means that you don't have to dive deep into the weeds as you do with lower-level languages. For example in Java garbage collection (i.e. killing "unused objects taking up space in memory") happens without your involvement, unlike in C++. But at the same time, Java is low-level enough to handle most tasks.

Java is everywhere so you may choose what to do

What is Java used for? It is used for everything! Java is almost everywhere and here is a short list:

• Big Enterprise server side apps
• Android Applications
• Different Web and desktop applications
• Server Apps at Financial Services Industry
• Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain
• Big Data technologies
• AI, Machine Learning

So if you want to work for a huge company, on a big complicated project, Java is a good choice. If you are interested in mobile software development, learn Java. It is native language for Android. According to IDC Android's smartphone share was around 84,1% in 2020 and it will be increased slightly through the next few years. iOS smartphones (iPhones) now have about 15.9% of the Worldwide market. The majority of all companies use Java in one way or another. Here are some big names whose infrastructure definitely has Enterprise Java applications.

• Google
• Uber
• Netflix
• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Spotify
• Amazon
• eBay
• LinkedIn

Java is everywhere because it can solve different problems

Java has hundreds or even thousands of frameworks, libraries and other tools that help developers solve problems. A very small percentage of developers get absolutely new problems. Most likely, someone has already solved your problem before you and created one of the tools we have told above. So you can use them too, there is no need to reinvent the wheel. Java has a huge amount of extremely useful libraries and frameworks you can use.

Java has a huge and friendly community

This paragraph you may connect to the previous one, because forums, such as forum for newbies JavaRanch and Java threads on reddit or stackoverflow. You can ask any questions there or look for a solution to your problem. BTW, here on CodeGym we have a friendly community as well. Use CodeGym Help to get help with your tasks or any Java problem. Even if you have difficulties in learning Java, you can easily get help from a global community. There are more than 9 millions Java developers in the world, and their online community is vast and dynamic. You can easily find an answer to almost any question, that appears while you study and get useful sources to deepen your knowledge.

Java is everywhere so it is easier to get a first Job

There are many large outsourcing companies who work with huge projects. These projects usually have tens of thousands tasks requiring different qualifications, from the most basic to expert level. Hence, they need hundreds or even thousands of software developers. Simply put, large companies always need those who do work that experienced developers don’t want to do. They need trainees and Juniors! These big companies often work specifically with Java. Of course, competition for Java Junior positions is quite high. You need to be well prepared, but anyway it is much easier for a beginner to find a job in such a company, than in a small one.

Java is one of the easiest ways to get a first software developer job.

Java and JVM has a bright future

Java is constantly evolving. A new version appears every six months, and features that are needed for modern programming appear in it. At the same time, Java has very good backward compatibility (compatibility with older versions). When you get familiar with the Java Virtual Machine, you can easily use other languages with such a runtime environment. For example, Groovy, Scala, Kotlin and Clojure. So if you want to, you can join as many interesting projects as you wish and enhance the knowledge of the technology stack.

Least but not last: Java developers are well paid

Java projects come in all sizes. For example, you can create a pet project for Android or web. You can work for a mid-sized outsource company that creates different projects. Or be a part of the developers team of a CRM or ERP product company. Or even for a multinational corporation and develop a huge project, for example, to run an airline or a space agency. Java developers work on promising projects and earn high salaries. Of course, they vary greatly depending on the developer and project level. According to Indeed.com, an average Java developer salary in the U.S. is about $100 366 per year.

Way of Java Developer

Let’s see what’s waiting for a future Java developer step by step.

Step #1 Learn to code from zero

As we said before, Java is a beginner friendly language and that is one of the main reasons to learn it with zero programming skills. Don’t worry, you shouldn't be a math genius to start coding or to be a software developer. Some programmers really need good math skills, such as physical game engines creators or scientific programming specialists. But most of them don't. It is not about math, you simply need to understand the logic. This step is about learning Java Core. Here are the main topics:

• Basic Java constructs, operators, and data types
• OOP and its implementation in Java
• Exceptions
• Java collections framework
• Generics
• Input/output API
• Multithreading and Java Concurrency API
• Unit testing
• Lambdas

Step #2 Learn Frameworks

Junior Java Developer requirements sometimes include knowledge of Spring, Hibernate and Spring Boot. To study these technologies on your own isn’t a trivial task, but, nevertheless, it is possible, especially at the superficial level. A deeper understanding will come during work.

• Spring
• Hibernate
• Spring MVC
• Spring Boot

Alternative Step #2 Learn Android

If you are interested in mobile development, learn how to program for Android. If you know Java it opens up the Universe of Android development for you. Download Android Studio and try one of the courses.

Step #3 Try to create your own project

It could be a Web or Android Application, a game or time management assistant, something that is interesting for you to create. It shouldn’t be a big thing, just a project to train your programming skills and to demonstrate them to your potential employer.

Step #4 Write your CV, apply for vacancies and start as a junior developer

Once you’ve gained core knowledge, you start a career as a programmer on Java: this is what you aspire, don’t you? As a beginner, you’ll feel more confident knowing that Java has a huge number of libraries and frameworks for numerous tasks. As a learner, you write your own routines to get plenty of practice and make sense of the programming process. But later, as a developer, you can adjust ready-made solutions to your project. They will help you save time in numerous large-scale projects. Plus everything you need is there for you in a great Java documentation at Oracle and Stack Overflow. Updated November 24, 2022