How Does Learning Java Compare with Other Skills?

Computer programming can seem complex and difficult for newcomers, but coding does not require any special talents and can be learned by anyone willing to spend the necessary time and effort. Java, a popular programming language used to create many applications across multiple devices, is considered a relatively easy language to learn. Learning Java not only enables a student to create many software products but also teaches skills useful in other technical fields. 

An important factor that goes into deciding to learn a new skill is researching complementary and related skills. Doing so will help you make more informed decisions about what you want to learn, and it will help you decide whether or not learning a specific skill is the right decision for you. You will also learn what kind of skills you may want to learn to complement your training later on. Read on to learn more about related Java training options such as web development, software engineering, machine learning engineering, UI/UX design, and data analysis.

What is Java?

Java is a programming language and computing platform created at Sun Microsystems in 1995, now open-source and free to use. It is a high-level and general-purpose language, designed so that a programmer can write an application once and run it on any device with Java Runtime Environment (JRE) software. This wide utility makes Java one of the most popular programming languages, used to create web, mobile, and desktop applications (including video games), web and database servers, machine learning systems, and smart appliances. Java is an object-oriented language, which allows programmers to build projects faster by using shared code libraries and reusing previous code. Java’s syntax is highly similar to C++ and C#, which makes it easier to learn, and its long history and consistent popularity have generated many resources for learning and support. Other programming languages have also been adapted to run on the Java platform, making it a useful system for coders to understand even if they do not primarily write in Java.

What Can You Do with Java Skills?

Programmers can use Java to create software for most platforms, including web, mobile, and desktop applications. Software products created with Java include video games; social media and entertainment platforms; ride-sharing, hospitality, delivery, and other service scheduling apps; mathematical software; and research software for measurement, experimental control, and data analysis. Many businesses seek Java programmers to create and maintain enterprise applications to manage their operations, including tasks like inventory management, service scheduling, and retail sales. Java also supports cloud storage and processing, enabling more distributed services. Similarly, Java programmers can write code to operate web servers, database servers, and smart devices. Java-powered devices include home security systems, smart appliances, self-driving vehicles, and robots. Java-based applications were at the forefront of early Big Data and continue to be significant among data mining, machine learning, and generative programs. In particular, Java programmers now build many chatbots, search assistants, and other expert systems. 

Skills Related to Java

Java is rarely the only programming language a professional coder will need. An entry-level coder might start with Java to learn core programming skills, but depending on their industry, specialty, and product type(s), they will need to learn various other related languages. Also depending on their intended career, Java programmers need many complementary work skills to help them manage projects, including practice working in large development teams. Finally, Java itself boasts a wide array of useful tools for building, testing, and adapting code, far more than can be covered in any single training program.

Python

Python is another popular high-level, general-purpose programming language usable for the same tasks as Java. Almost any career supported by Java can also benefit from knowing Python. Some developers and businesses prefer Python, while others employ both Python and Java. Compared to Java, Python is generally faster to write, easier to understand, and more versatile in its uses, while Java is more widely compatible with different platforms and its applications run faster and use fewer system resources. Knowing both languages gives a programmer more options and greatly increases their value to employers.

Students may study both languages simultaneously, which can improve their understanding of their common computing principles. Or, after graduating from a Java course, a student might want to add Python to their repertoire. Noble Desktop’s Python Developer Certificate program is a complete professional course that trains students in Python, starting with a general introduction, continuing through a unit on web development using Python, and concluding with each student’s choice of further study in data science, data visualization, or machine learning applications. 

Software Engineering

While Java programming is a core skill for software development, the process of creating a software product involves multiple tools and skills. A Software Engineer usually learns multiple programming languages plus several development tools, programs that assist the development process. Developer operations (or DevOps) tools like Git, GitHub, Docker, Apache Maven, and Jenkins coordinate complex coding tasks by tracking changes, saving backups of past code versions, recording and sharing project information, and automating repetitive tasks. Software development also requires programmers to understand the work processes of planning, collaborating, and testing partial and finished code. 

Java programmers with additional study in software engineering are more likely to be employed by businesses developing large-scale collaborative programming projects. Software engineering students also gain the skills necessary to handle these larger groups and projects themselves, whether to run their own business or to qualify for management positions. Noble Desktop’s Software Engineering Certificate program is a combination of several bootcamp courses covering multiple tools and skills required for a career in software engineering. While this program is primarily focused on the web development industry, featuring lessons on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python, its lessons also apply to work building other kinds of applications.

Web Development

Java helps with several aspects of website creation, but web development requires other skills, especially for full stack developers who create both the user-facing front end and the server-side back end of a website. Front end web development requires training in web design plus HTML and CSS, the languages that specify the contents and layout of webpages. Back end development includes knowledge of database management systems, web servers, and their underlying code. Web developers of all types should know JavaScript, a scripting language unrelated to Java that adds functionality to webpages and web servers. Designing, implementing, and maintaining a website also requires the study of web architecture, server management, web security, collaborative design and coding, and for some businesses, online marketing strategies.

Some businesses use Java only for specific web applications, preferring other languages for other website functions. JavaScript is the most popular web coding language, but depending on their industry and tasks, web developers may also need to learn Python, PHP, Ruby, Swift (for Apple iOS), Perl, Rust, or other languages. Further, Java itself has multiple libraries, frameworks, and development environments that make web development easier and more efficient. Learning these additional tools helps programmers keep up with employers’ needs. For complete professional training in web development, consider Noble Desktop’s Full Stack Web Development Certificate program, or their Front-End Web Development Certificate or JavaScript Development Certificate for shorter, more limited certificate programs.

UI Design

User interface (UI) design addresses the interactive features of products and often refers to the input and output elements of software. UI Designers consider elements of graphic design like shape, color, typography, and informational value alongside functional concerns like interactivity and responsiveness. Learning about UI design helps Java programmers build better websites, applications, or devices, including more intuitive controls, clearer menu structures, and more useful output formats. 

Java students interested in web development or software development should also consider studying UI design to improve the user appeal and overall value of their products. Knowing this field is also helpful to better understand and implement requests from UI designers on a collaborative team. Noble Desktop’s UI Design Certificate is a professional training program that teaches students the principles of UI design through collaborative graphic and functional design for websites and applications. 

UX Design

A field closely related to and incorporating UI design, User experience (UX) design is the field that addresses a user’s complete experience, including a product’s appeal, effectiveness, and satisfaction. Like UI design, UX design most often refers to technological products like software or computing devices. Good UX design includes anticipating users’ needs, shaping products to be easily understandable and to serve those needs, making products efficient and durable, exploring design ideas with potential users, and testing project prototypes with users to confirm their value. 

Learning the principles of UX design helps Java programmers build products that are not only technically functional but also useful and desirable. It can open a new career path for Java students as a UX Designer for Java applications. Understanding UX design also helps when working with UX Designers and managers on a collaborative team, so that a programmer can shape their code to meet design requests. Noble Desktop’s UX & UI Design Certificate provides professional training in both user experience and user interface design, teaching the principles, tools, and uses of both disciplines.

Big Data

Separately from software products, Java can create valuable programs for anyone needing to collect, organize, store, analyze, and explain large data sets. One of the earliest data mining programs, Hadoop, was written in Java, and Java programmers are sought for data gathering, database management, data analysis and visualization, and applications that can act on these enormous amounts of information.

Studying related fields like data analysis and database management gives Java programmers a better understanding of these disciplines and the powerful data-handling tools a programmer can create with Java. Students may apply these principles to create new data-driven Java applications or use their Java skills in a data-related career. The Data Analytics Certificate offered by Noble Desktop is a professional training program that teaches students the principles and methods of data analytics and many of the most popular tools for data analysis tasks, including Python (another programming language), SQL (a coding language for data management), and Tableau (a platform for data visualization).

Machine Learning

The first component of artificial intelligence, machine learning, uses expert systems to automatically organize and analyze data and then use its discovered patterns to predict future events. These systems are composed of several programs that search data for patterns, check the validity of their results, and then take actions based on confirmed patterns. Machine learning systems provide the learning ability and expertise to technologies like voice and face recognition programs, language processing systems, stock market predictions, cybersecurity threat detectors, and social media and entertainment algorithms. Machine learning is also one component of generative AI systems, which use learning algorithms to build and revise the representations they consult when prompted with a request.

Machine Learning Engineers can use Java to build their software. Java students may want to study machine learning as a potential application of their skills. Some machine learning systems can also read and analyze Java projects, acting as assistants to check code for errors, suggest corrections, and even write code on their own. Noble Desktop’s Python Machine Learning Bootcamp is an immersive course that teaches the methods and tools of machine learning using Python, another general-purpose programming language. While the course does require that students have previous knowledge of Python, studying that language alongside Java gives students greater versatility and an additional perspective on both languages’ common principles.

Java Tools

Introductory Java courses generally teach to a ‘vanilla’ level of coding skill, unassisted by external tools. Longer Java training programs, especially programs focused on specific careers, may include several common tools that make Java easier, faster, more accurate, and better adapted to particular projects. However, few courses cover multiple such tools, and none can address all of the additions Java has collected over the years. Java frameworks like Spring, Struts, and Google Web Toolkit (GWT) are sets of prewritten code that save programmers work when building applications. Build tools like Jenkins, Apache, and Gradle assist and simplify the many tasks involved when assembling and finishing large Java programs. Testing tools like TestNG, Selenide, and JUnit test Java code to make sure it will behave as intended under different conditions. Finally, many programmers also recommend learning Kotlin, a revision of Java that is compatible with that language but preferred by some companies.

After completing an initial Java course, graduates should consider either advanced Java classes, a career training program including career-specific Java tools, or free tutorials addressing individual Java tools. Some free tutorials are provided by tools’ publishers, while others are created by expert Java programmers or programming enthusiasts. Coding schools like Codecademy or video tutorial sites like Udemy are useful repositories of free lessons, including explanations of various Java tools.

Learn Java Skills with Noble Desktop

NextGen Bootcamp hosts a Java Programming Summer Program, both live online and in-person in New York City, to teach professional Java coding to high school and college students. The program, which runs for about two weeks on a full-time schedule, begins with an introduction to programming that grounds each new concept with its corresponding uses in Java. The course continues through lessons on more complex topics like file management, object-oriented programming, and recursion. In addition to live classes, students receive a proprietary workbook, work on practical projects applying their lessons, and can review the recordings of each class session. After completing this program, students receive a verified digital certificate.

For adult learners, Noble Desktop offers online Java Private Tutoring in three-hour increments. This instruction is 1-on-1 and personalized to each student. Though designed primarily for beginners with little or no programming experience, the tutoring program progresses quickly to higher-level programming concepts and includes a complete, original project suitable for a starting portfolio. Students can also use this course to prepare for further computer science studies.