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How long does it take to learn Java to be job ready?

Deni Toshevski on February 08, 2019

How long does it take to learn Java to be able to apply for jobs? I know for everyone is different but am looking at some rough time frame. Am working at the moment and I can dedicate 20 hours per week for learning. I already got my feet wet with HTML, CSS, Javascript. Would love to hear your thoughts.

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Ben Lovy

I think this will vary widely by both the specific job in question and the learner. What takes someone a month might take someone else 4 months, and that discrepancy doesn't always necessarily mean the faster learner will be the more competent developer in the long run.

The best way to get a sense of where you are is to try it. Start applying and go through the process, aware you will likely not succeed at the beginning. You'll learn a lot about your current strengths and weaknesses based on where you excel and struggle in an interview, and it will give you a clear path for what you need to be focusing on. Its' incredibly difficult to make this assessment accurately yourself without context.

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Fabian Holzer • Edited

I think the more important concern is to narrow down which skills actually constitute job readyness.

Without an idea for a reasonable curriculum, it's useless to guesstimate (it's the same with requirements - you cannot tell how long it takes if you don't have the faintest clue about the actual scope...) and the Java ecosystem can be overwhelming for a beginner, since there are multiple options to choose from for nearly aspect you could find useful.

But before you bother yourself with Java EE vs. Spring and the likes, I'd like to suggest that you get yourself a copy of Josh Blochs "Effective Java" (3rd edition) and work through it. When all the 90 items in there are, if not yet second nature, then at least understood by you, I'd consider that as a promising start.

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Natali

Hi! In 12 weeks you may be experienced enough to do something useful in Java, but it takes years to become an expert like our Java developers: romexsoft.com/java-development/. Good luck to you!

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John Selawsky • Edited

It's s cool that you clearly understand why exactly you want to learn Java. To answer this question better to specify - do you know some other programming languages or you're a complete rookie? I've made some researches with guys from CodeGym on this topic and it shows that approximately it's possible to learn Java and find your first job in 16-26 months (see the graphics below).
here
You could see the full article here: codegym.cc/groups/posts/how-long-d...

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Fred Ross

If I had an experienced engineer who'd spent years writing C++ and C#, the answer would be a couple of days, or, frankly, apply without learning it and deal with it if you get the job. Because it's not Java, the language, which is the problem. It's the fundamentals, the actual skill of programming. When someone says "3-5 years of Java experience" what they're really saying is, "I need someone whose programming fundamentals are completely solid in the rough domain I'm dealing with and who's had to deal with the quirks of the JVM enough to not be brought to a halt by them."

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Julia

I think that you will need at least two years of studying. When you get certain skills it will be easier to find first job as a java developer.