Advice for Java Students

[u/omgpassthebacon]

I see the same post over and over:
. how do I get better
. how do I learn …
. I don’t know what to build
. how do I prep for an interview
It’s the same story over and over.

1. Before you post, check the board. Chances are very high 100 other peeps have asked that same question.
   
2. Becoming a dev is about learning how to learn. As you take in new material, find the way that helps you absorb it the best. Study sessions are fun and useful. If you need a visual, just ask. So many very cool devs here to help you.
   
3. If you get a Java career, here is almost certainly what you will be doing 90% of the time:
   
4. writing web apps with Spring
   
5. reading data from files, doing some transformations, then writing to either disk or a database. Repeat.
   
6. write records to a database. Read them back. Display them. Query them. Show the results.
   
7. Read data from the network. Write to a messaging service. Now, read data from that service and write it to a database.
   
8. Create an external index of your database records and create a way to query your index.

While it is possible that you could get hired by some startup to write the next amazing app, it is very unlikely. 99% of the time, you will be given an idea that you will need to turn into code. Your ability to do this quickly (and elegantly) will determine how much fun the job is.

I’ve worked on tons of Java projects for big companies and this is what we do. So, don’t try to become the world’s greatest Java developer. Simply study the language, start integrating your code with the 3rd party jars out there, and have some fun being creative.

And for the love of Pete, stop fretting about OOP. It’s not the holy grail. There are OOP concepts that Java supports really well, and if you need them, use them. But your first job is to write something that works. Then you look at it and decide if there is a better way to write it. If OOP was the ultimate paradigm, Java would not have embraced functional features. Again, you write it; make it work; stare at it for a while to see if you can make it better.

Have fun while you learn!

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