🎯 5 things every Junior Java Developer
should learn to find the dream job

Starting a career as a junior developer is not easy. You have to face a huge amount of knowledge and choose what is crucial to start with. Of course, as a beginner, you won’t know everything, but general knowledge is necessary to know how to find your way around a project and where to look for further information. Here are five things you should try to familiarise yourself with as a junior java developer!

1. 📚 Core Java concepts

Before you dive into the more complex aspects of Java programming, it’s important to have a solid understanding of the core concepts and fundamentals. This includes things like variables, data types, operators, control statements, and loops. Java is a strongly-typed language, which means that variables must be declared with a specific data type. Almost everything in Java is an object – You should also understand the basics of object-oriented programming, including classes, objects, methods and encapsulation. As if that wasn’t enough – don’t forget about inheritance and polymorphism.

2. 🔄 Version Control Systems

Version control systems like Git are essential tools for software development, and it’s important for every developer to be proficient in using them. Version control systems allow you to keep track of changes to your code and collaborate with other developers. You should learn how to use Git to create and manage branches, commit changes, merge code, and resolve conflicts. This skill is important regardless of the programming language.

3. 🌉 Java Frameworks

To build applications more quickly and efficiently you have to use frameworks. There are many Java frameworks available, including Spring, Spring Boot, Hibernate, and Struts. At the beginning of your career, you should pick up one and start learning it. The most popular are SpringBoot and Hibernate so it should be a good choice in terms of finding the first job. Many developers say that SpringBoot is a good choice to start with because of the clear documentation and mechanisms that make work easier.

4. ✅ Testing

Testing is a critical part of software development. As a Java developer, you should be familiar with testing frameworks like JUnit5 and Mockito. These frameworks allow you to write automated code tests that can help detect errors early and ensure that your code works as intended. By learning to write effective tests, you can improve the quality of your code and reduce the risk of introducing new bugs – this will help you become a better developer and you will have the opportunity to find a good job

5. 🛠️ IDEs & Tools

Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) are essential tools for developers. IDEs such as Eclipse, IntelliJ IDEA, and NetBeans provide a range of features such as code completion, debugging, and project management. Learning to use an IDE effectively will save you time and help you write better code. You can also take a look at build tools like Maven or Gradle – these tools will help you automate the process of building and managing Java projects to simplify the whole development process.

The amount of knowledge at the beginning may be overwhelming, but with each new tool or functionality learned, everything will become clearer. In addition to hard skills as a junior, attitude is also important – if you want to develop and are ambitious – finding your dream job is only a matter of time.

Looking for an internship may also be a good idea – take a look at our Careers Page, maybe we are looking for you!