Essential skills a Java developer must possess

We are about to welcome the year 2023. As the years pass by, various new advancements in the technological sector are being made. Even after all these years, Java still remains one of the most popular and useful programming languages in the world. It’s impact and its application across various sectors of technology still remains unbeatable. Despite its age and legacy, Java isn’t going to go away soon. Statista reveals that as many as 40% of developers all over the world code in Java. Java is one of the best and oldest programming languages. This programming language is also one of the most in-demand languages. Therefore, developers pursuing a career of a Java developer, need to gain a competitive advantage. Java developers career has a very good growth if an individual has a certain set of skills that companies look for nowadays in every Java developer. As both a development language and an ecosystem, Java attracts more and more people every day. Because learning Java has never been so accessible—thanks to books, articles, tutorials, courses at all levels, conference talks, and more than 500 Java User Groups across the globe for networking—the 12 million developers who tout Java savvy are poised to get plenty of new company, and soon. The vast amount of resources available to Java developers comes with a downside. Knowing where to start, what to learn next, whether your skills are staying relevant, and what additional skills are needed to round out your role is overwhelming. Bringing value to this role (which will pay off for you as much as your organization!) means maintaining a solid foundation while staying flexible to the curveballs that future technologies will introduce. Aside from its widespread use, it’s also the most in-demand programming language among employers, with more job listings on top employment portals seeking developers with Java skills than any other language. So naturally, if you’re one of the employers behind the 36,000+ job listings seeking Java developers or you’re a Java programmer looking for your next gig, the skills and characteristics that set great Java developers apart from the pack is crucial information. And if you’re a Java programmer looking for your next gig, knowing what skills you should level-up and what characteristics to promote to your prospective employers is good-to-know info. It’s a compiled language with object code that is not limited to a single processor or machine, making it ideal for cross-platform applications like web apps and server-side programming. Java is the most popular programming language for creating Android apps nowadays. Cloud apps, machine-learning environments, and Internet of Things technology all use it.

What Does a Java Developer Do?

A Java Developer is a Computer Software Programmer who uses the Java Programming Language in the development of computer applications, web development, and other client and server-side requirements. A Java Developer is in charge of designing, developing, and maintaining Java-based programs. Because Java is so widely used, especially by large enterprises, day-to-day responsibilities vary, but can include owning a specific program or working on several at once. As a Java developer, you’ll most likely be part of an organization’s IT team. Depending on how your company is set up, you may have a single IT team or a number of smaller IT teams working on particular projects. In Agile contexts, the second method is frequently used.

Essential Java Developer Skills

The tasks and obligations of a Java developer/engineer vary widely based on the firm and job. Therefore, we bring you the essential technical as well as interpersonal skills that a Java developer mist possess in order to excel in this prominent sector that has catapulted the careers of several software engineers.

Technical Skills

·         There are a few crucial APIs that Java developers should know. Some of the most important are JSON processing APIs, Logging APIs, and XML processing APIs. To take one example, some of the specific libraries for XML processing APIs that developers should be aware of include Stax and JAXB.

·         One common thing that differentiates between a good Java developer and an average Java developer is the ability to perform unit testing. Every good Java developer who is serious about his work writes down the unit tests for all his codes. The way a Java developer writes down the unit tests for his codes tells a lot about him. With various tools now coming into the market, it is easier for Java developers to utilise these tools for unit testing, integration testing, and automation testing. As your application grows, it becomes more laborious to maintain it and write automated tests that include unit and integration tests that require launching an application. In Java, deployment, and assembly of an application isn’t fast. That’s when unit testing tools like JUnit and TestNg come into play. These frameworks speed up writing of automated tests, offer an easy syntax, and provide you with immediate feedback on passed tests. Tools like JUnit JUnit promotes the idea of “testing first” approach that increases the productivity of the programmer and the stability of the codebase, which in turn reduces the burden on the programmer and the time spent on debugging.

·         A modern Java developer needs to know DevOps tools. A great Java developer must be familiar with continuous integration and deployment. Knowing DevOps and containers helps Java developers to build scripts and guidelines, create environments, and set the best coding practices. DevOps principles are crucial. They can enhance communication and lead to a boost in productivity. Java developers familiar with DevOps principles can maintain current product deployments and develop new ones faster. DevOps knowledge is a requirement among top Java skills. Continuous integration (CI), continuous deployment (CD), and Jenkins’ involvement in both processes are all important concepts for a skilled developer to understand. A solid understanding of major DevOps tools like Docker, Chef, Kubernetes, Maven, and Jenkins is even more important for senior-level developers whose duties typically involve applying coding best practices and writing guides and scripts.

·         Different frameworks and languages solve different programming tasks. That’s why being a programming language polyglot is essential. DevSkiller, a developer screening platform, released an annual IT skills report that reveals additional technologies Java developers learn along with their main language. As high as 26.27% of companies are looking for developers with the Java and SQL skill set. Meanwhile, 6.85% of employers need specialists with a Java + JavaScript stack. In addition to the language itself, developers work in a specific environment. Thus, the most popular Java skills include Selenium, Android, Spring/Spring Boot, and JPA/Hibernate.

·         Great Java developers are skilled in the implementation of object-oriented design patterns and can architect their code effectively in an OO way. It takes experience to do this well.

·         Java developers should understand what a JVM is and know they can use it to conduct code verification and execution. A JVM makes it possible to run a Java program and even offers a runtime environment that developers can use to execute Java bytecode. These are some of the trickier subjects that great Java developers are skilled in. Their knowledge of the runtime and how it does garbage collection is crucial to their success. After all, memory-related errors are so common.

·         Java web frameworks are the best in class solutions for building a Mobile application with the best features and the least amount of code. They enable the creation and deployment of web applications on the World Wide Web in a uniform manner, including web services, web resources, and web APIs. Spring MVC and Play are two of the greatest frameworks. Spring makes an effort to avoid tight connections (where classes directly depend on other classes and interfaces in the framework) by relying on annotations. Spring is currently built on the Model-View-Controller (MVC) framework, which divides the operations, business, and representation layers. Spring is praised by developers for its excellent object injection capabilities, simple syntax, simplicity, and automated testing tools. You must have an in-depth knowledge of these tools because today a lot of mobile applications are based on java web frameworks.

·         Java Testing Tools enable you to test your JSP pages and Web applications using an interface that does not require you to run your application in a web browser. They support a variety of test activities, including planning, requirements, building a build, testing, defect tracking, and analysis. Selenium and TestNG are two testing tools. You must have a good understanding of any one of these tools. They are of great help while testing your applications.

·         The method of recording and controlling changes to software code is known as version control, sometimes known as source control. Version control systems (VCS) are software tools that aid software development teams in managing source code changes over time. Version control systems help software teams operate faster and smarter as development environments have increased. There are many version control platforms. Some of them are Github, BitBucket, GitLab, BeanStalk. You should have good hands-on version control systems.

·         Java system versions are constantly being rolled out, so your Java developers will have plenty of new tasks to complete. Can your candidates adjust to the tweaks and version alterations made to the Java system and use the technology to complete new tasks for their clients? Being adaptable can help Java developers handle unexpected changes and be prepared to solve new challenges.

Soft Skills

·         Empathy is important for grasping a task’s requirements through understanding the audience or client using the software. It is, therefore, a necessary skill that facilitates the Java developers’ role. Empathy is also critical because it helps them collaborate with team members and relate to their concerns. Combining empathy and teamwork helps Java developers support their team. It’s also vital that Java developers can combine pragmatism with empathy to build products that meet the requirements and address the concerns of the end-user.

·         Java developers should know the importance of effective organization. Using a code version control like GitHub or GitLab can make this easier since developers can use them for task management. Candidates might combine these tools with other task management tools to stay organized and manage their workload efficiently.

·         Time-management skills include task prioritization, task planning, execution, and taking on board feedback (or reflecting on tasks). All these skills facilitate task management and improve productivity. Java developers who manage their time efficiently avoid prioritizing tasks that yield minimal results, focusing instead on tasks with more significant and positive impacts.

·         Work ethic and motivation characteristics can contribute to a Java developer’s productivity and success. The more their motivators align with your organization, and the more they perceive their work to be meaningful, the more likely they will perform better and remain in the role.

Emerging Technologies to Learn

·         Kotlin is a powerful mobile technology for developing Android applications. This cross-platform language works with Java and uses type inference, making its syntax concise compared with Java. Since Java developers can use Kotlin to write fewer lines of code and achieve similar results, they should have a good working knowledge of the programming language. Many developers start developing mobile apps, omitting the web development phase. Knowledge of Kotlin to develop Android applications will help you stand out of a competition. In fact, the Android platform is slowly moving to Kotlin which is basically a modified Java language.

·         To enhance system security, Java developers must understand what blockchain is and recognize its advantages to enhance system security. For example, do your candidates know that blockchains can help them keep track of computer network transactions?

·         If you need to hire an AWS Java developer, your candidates must be familiar with Amazon Web Services. AWS is useful for Java developers because developing and running Java applications in a virtual environment can make migrations easier.

·         Machine learning algorithms help with various application domains. They also help Java developers handle large datasets that evolve, in addition to data streams and data that Internet of Things devices produce.

·         Building server-side apps requires EE components and technology. Java developers should understand what EE components are and how they work. Examples of EE components include Java Server Pages and Java Beans.

Conclusion

Hiring Java developers isn’t easy, but remaining aware of the essential Java skills is a step in the right direction. The best way to find and hire Java developers for your organization is to keep the essential Java skills in mind and ask candidates to complete a Java assessment.