What Can You Do with Java Skills?

Java, a popular programming language, allows users to code applications that run on almost any computing device. Professionals use Java in nearly every technology-based industry, creating mobile apps, websites, cloud computing servers, machine learning systems, and operating code for smart appliances and scientific devices. Programmers also use Java to create software tools for many businesses, including manufacturing, sales, logistics, and entertainment. Java is open-source, requiring no specific tools other than one of its platforms, available for free download. However, development environment software helps to write and test Java code more efficiently, and Java training programs often recommend and provide one of these software tools. If you are unsure whether learning Java is right for you, consider reading on to learn more about the myriad uses of Java tools and techniques. Not only will learning Java open several new career opportunities, but it also has a lot of potential personal uses.

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. 

Professional Uses for Java

Many industries seek skilled Java programmers to build the software that supports their operations. That software can take many forms: web-based and mobile apps, desktop programs, web and database servers, learning and generative systems, and operating code for smart devices like appliances and sensors. Java coders can be independent developers, contractors, consultants, or direct employees, with titles reflecting their specific project types, such as Web Developer or Mobile Developer, or more general titles like Database Administrator or Software Engineer. Some Java experts apply their skills to expanding computational tools, creating new development environments for Java or finding new approaches for using the language, such as in machine learning applications.

Web Development

One of Java’s most popular uses is to create web-based applications, programs accessed and run through a web browser, often used as building blocks for websites. Many major online businesses, including social media, ecommerce, entertainment, ride-sharing, and hospitality companies, conduct their operations using web-based Java applications. Java web applications also add useful interactive services like chatbots, design tools, or video libraries. In addition, Java programmers can build and maintain web servers, making it a useful tool for Back End Web Developers and Database Administrators.

Software Development

Java programmers create mobile and desktop applications, which can be products in themselves or tools to support businesses. Many Software Engineers and Mobile Developers work partly or wholly with Java to create new software products. Stand-alone Java-based applications include video games, design programs, point-of-sale registers, and database management systems. 

Enterprise Applications

Enterprise applications are programs used by large companies to manage their internal operations by organizing, automating, distributing, and recording tasks. Manufacturers, shippers, transporters, retailers, financial analysts, banks, and stock traders all need enterprise software of varying kinds, and many hire Java programmers to create and maintain these programs. Cloud-based applications, in particular, help large companies coordinate their activities across multiple departments and sites. Cloud-based and mobile applications built with Java also help workers collaborate on complex projects. 

Big Data

Java has been part of large database processing, machine learning, and generative systems since these fields’ beginning. One of the first data mining programs, Hadoop, was coded in Java, and many new data analysis, learning, and creative systems make use of Java. Data-sharing, analysis, and visualization systems built with Java also assist researchers in data-intensive fields like genetics, biochemistry, and astrophysics.

Smart Devices

Java programs can also control physical devices, whether sensory devices like cameras, infrared detectors, and microphones, or output devices like appliances and robots. Java code can enable both automated activity and remote control via “the Internet of Things”. For example, some home security systems, powered by Java, detect threats, trigger alarms, and allow remote viewers to check or cancel alerts. Plus, some robot vacuums are steered using Java, a Java interface controlled the Mars Exploration Rover, and Java is now being tested for self-driving vehicles. 

Other Uses for Java

Personal Applications

Java applications can be useful tools for personal projects. Many coders learn Java to create games to entertain themselves and friends. Some use Java to build websites for their interests or organizations, adding messaging services, shared media, and handy tools like calendars, sketchbooks, or maps. A self-employed creator can use Java to build business assets like an ecommerce platform, also incorporating inventory management and point-of-sale features. 

Inventions

Inventors, including both hobbyists and aspiring entrepreneurs, can use Java to automate their creations. A Java program can serve as a robot’s “brain”, coordinating its sensory inputs with its movements. A coder can similarly use Java to build the user interface and operating system for a new smart device or appliance. Some devices that do not need to operate independently can instead be observed and controlled remotely through a web or mobile application written in Java.

Research

With Java, researchers and other scientific workers can create valuable tools to help them collect, analyze, and communicate data. Students, academics, healthcare providers, and investigators for research laboratories and governmental agencies use Java to build measurement apparatus, experimental control programs, analysis programs, data-sharing platforms, and data modeling and predictive systems. Java programs assist sciences as diverse as biology and genetics, astrophysics and space exploration, experimental psychology, materials science, and data science.

Learn Java Skills with Noble Desktop

NextGen Bootcamp hosts a Java Programming Summer Program, both live online and in-person in New York City, teaching professional Java coding to high school and college students. The program, which takes about two weeks on a full-time schedule, begins with an introduction to programming that grounds each 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 class instruction, students receive a proprietary workbook, work on applied practical projects, 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.

Students who are interested in Java primarily for its use in web development might prefer Noble Desktop’s Full Stack Web Development Certificate program. This professional training program is presented in person in New York City or live online and is available for either full-time or part-time study. Students need no prior programming experience. The course begins with an introduction to web development and its most important languages, HTML and CSS. The instructor follows this introduction with more advanced lessons on HTML and CSS, front end web development tools, and JavaScript and its commonly used web design libraries. The program concludes with additional lessons on and career guidance for the web development industry. This program includes ten 1-on-1 mentoring sessions to further assist students, proprietary workbooks, multiple portfolio projects, and a certificate of completion. Graduates may retake the course once for free for up to one year.

Python is another high-level, general-purpose programming language used for many of the same projects as Java. Students seeking training in computing fields like web development, software engineering, or data analysis should consider studying Python in addition to Java. Noble Desktop’s Python Developer Certificate program is a complete professional training course offered in-person in New York City or live online anywhere. The course requests that students have prior experience coding in HTML and CSS, such as taught in an introductory web design or web development class. This knowledge will help in the program’s second unit, which teaches web development using Python, following the introductory unit that introduces Python’s fundamental terms, syntax, and techniques. Students may choose one of three bonus units to conclude their Python studies: Data Science, Data Visualization, or Machine Learning. The complete program takes several weeks of full-time study but includes several portfolio-quality projects and four 1-on-1 mentoring sessions to help with difficult topics or career preparation. Students also receive a certificate upon completion and may retake the course once for free within one year.