| The term 'java developer' covers a wide range of individuals. It starts with fresh graduates looking for jobs and goes up till experienced Java Enterprise Edition developers. There are a wide range of concepts and skills that Java developers must posses in order to be important in the industry. It is highly advisable to know the language fundamentals thoroughly, rather than specific frameworks or syntax. |  |
College Graduates:
A college graduate with no job experience is a fresh mind waiting to become a true Java developer. There are certain things
that you need to understand as a fresher in the industry to get your dream job.
1. College graduates must know how a Java Virtual Machine works for starters. Concepts like Platform Independence, Garbage
Collection, class files etc must be clearly understood.
2. They must be aware of the many Object Oriented Programming Concepts implemented in Java.
3. They must know what is multi-threading.
4. Basic understanding of data types and java.lang classes such as String, Math, System etc. is advisable.
5. They must understand the concept of Swing/AWT event based programming.
6. Knowledge of Java Collection framework.
7. They must be clear in the concepts of servlets and JSP.
Java Developers:
You may be a professional Java developer, but that doesn’t firmly guarantee you a job.
1. You must understand design patterns and its usage in Java.
2. You must understand improvements on language from major version changes such as Generics, Annotations, Enums etc.
3. Must know coding conventions.
4. Understand the concepts of Build tool (Ant) and Project Management Tool (Maven).
5. Understand version control systems, for instance CVS, SVN, Perforce, Clearcase etc.
6. You must know about Apache common libraries among other open source libraries.
7. Understand Unit testing and Continuous Integration Tools.
8. Highly advisable to have fundamental understanding of XML.
9. You must also understand business layer frameworks like Spring.
Java Enterprise Edition Developers:
Ok, so you are an experienced professional working on Web based development as a JEE developer. Does that mean you can't learn anything?
1. You must have a thorough understanding of MVC frameworks like Struts, Webwork, Tapestry and Spring MVC.
2. You are required to have a fundamental understanding of Web Services.
3. A thorough understanding of Web or Application servers like Tomcat, Glassfish, WebLogic, WebSphere, Jetty etc is essential.
4. You are required to have a working knowledge of Unix since most Java servers are hosted on Unix-based environment.
