There are several ways to learn to program in Java: university, college, programming courses or self-education. However, whichever path you choose, it will take a lot of work and study to match the requirements of a job.
Depending on the level of specialization and the goals of the company, the required skills are different.

As a junior Java developer, you should:

• Be familiar with the Java programming language itself, including its syntax, frameworks, commands, and libraries
• Understand the fundamentals of OOP, databases like MySQL, JDBC and others
• Proficient level of system design and architecture comprehension
• Good knowledge of English

If we speak about middle-level programmers, your Java knowledge must be deeper. In addition to the skills mentioned above, you also should:

• Be able to write comprehensible and short codes
• Have experience with using relational databases, sockets, and multithreading
• Make complex SQL queries
• Use Git version control systems
• Have a good know-how of algorithms and data structure

Senior Java developers should meet all previous skills and have a prominent level and experience. He or she also must meet the following criteria:

• Advanced knowledge of services and algorithms used in the project
• Background in designing complex systems and managing a team
• The ability to offer support to other members of the development team
• Knowledge of current frameworks, SDKs, APIs, and libraries
• Should have a strong projects portfolio
• Coding skills in programming languages other than Java

Soft Skills

In addition to strong skills, any Java developer will have to deal with situations of having to work with project colleagues and interact with the client. So, in these contexts, coding knowledge is less important than communication or collaboration aptitudes.

The mandatory soft skills are:

• Problem-solving and critical thinking
• Interpersonal skills, like communication, active listening, patience, responsibility, motivation, etc.
• Self-awareness to know the strong and weak points as a developer
• Self-learning
• Accountability to take ownership for made mistakes
• Time management and task prioritization skills
• Emotional intelligence

Certifications

Obtaining certifications is a strong point for any resume. The most popular certification a Java programmer can obtain is the Oracle Certified Associate Java Programmer, which allows you to pass tests for both Java SE 8 and SE 11.

At the same time, an engineer may aim to obtain a Spring, AWS, or Cloud computing certification, which can be an efficient tool in finding a new job and negotiating salary.

Pentalog provides developers with their own assessment, that goes beyond theoretical knowledge. Skill Value Insight (SVI) is a complex test covering strong and soft skills based on real-life situations behind each topic. Thus, any programmer can discover their strengths and weaknesses from the problems they may face in their work process.

If it seems interesting to you, you can find more about the SVI assessment here.

On the Java platform, the developer writes, modifies, and updates applications. They are also in charge of ensuring that they function properly. After building a program, they test it, find any issues, changes them, and then retests it.

As the backend, the portion of a product where the logic is implemented, is the primary area of development in Java, the programmer resolves the following issues:

• Write fast and secure code. Engineers should consider potential weaknesses and offer protection against them.
• Consider how the code will perform when under load. Verify that the program can handle thousands of people logging in at once.
• Think about data storage. Define and implement the database structure and queries to it to decide the best way to store and handle data.
• Create the application’s API and architecture. To launch the program, we must specify the tools and determine whether other systems may be required.

The Java development career, like any other, has its own challenges. One is that developers must learn constantly, grow, and understand related fields and other programming languages. However, this might not necessarily be difficult for some, especially when the company you work for gives you all the resources you need to become a better programmer, as Pentalog does.

Another challenge would be that the Java language requires more effort to get a job, as it has a more complicated structure and syntax.

In scrum, a Java Developer will work in a team with a scrum master, project owner, other programmers and testers.

Stakeholders of a Java developer can be both inside and outside the company, depending on the specifics of the project and the problem the product is intended to solve. These include people interested in project results, like:

• Project building team (managers, developers, partners etc.)
• Project sponsors
• Members of client’s organization
• Founders and shareholders
• Account and sales managers
• Investors
• End user, etc.

In the case of a Java Developer, OKRs are used to effectively manage the objectives they need to achieve in the context of the specific project. With their help, the engineer’s performance can be effectively measured while maintaining motivation and growth.

Some examples of OKRs that can be applied to a Java programmer:

1 Objective: Meeting the terms of the roadmap

• KR 1: Deliver the next new feature in 8 weeks.
• KR 2: Final development of the page in 3 months.

2 Objective: Increase product quality

• KR 1: Minimize the number of bugs by 20%.
• KR 2: Optimization of the website uptime.

3 Objective: Skills growth

• Obtaining certification in JSP technology.
• Attending a Java workshop.

A Java programmer’s salary is affected by the country, the company they work for, and the clients it serves. The qualifications of the programmer and their professional background is also crucial.

For example, according to Glassdoor, an average entry-level Java Developer in Germany earns €60.421 per year, while a middle programmer will have around €58.000 and senior €65.000. In France, gross salaries are between €39k and €63k per year. While in Romania, the monthly income will be around €1300€ for an entry-level, €1600 for a middle coder, and €2600 for a senior.

A Java Developer in Mexico typically earns around 485873 MXN per year, according to SalaryExpert. The same source says that in the US, the average salary is 99995 USD/year, while in Vietnam is 21816/year.