Java has been a leading programming language since its inception in 1995. It’s a compiled language whose object code isn’t confined to any one processor or computer, making it an excellent choice for cross-platform applications, including web applications and server-side code.  It is the most popular and everlasting programming language in the world of IT Industry. It is the reason why Java/J2EE Developers are in a constant race of enhancing their skills. The J2EE developers are also in demand today, especially with companies that work on the latest applets and application projects. If you are not familiar with J2EE, it is the abbreviation for Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition. It allows computer programmers and application developers to create enterprise applications. 

Java developer skills

Java J2EE developers are IT professionals that specialize in J2EE and programs that are used together with Java when creating applications.  If you are looking for developers with good Java developer skills, there are many points to consider first. There are certain skills that many Java/J2ee Developers have to possess to fulfil their responsibilities. There is more than what meets the eye when it comes to being a J2EE Developer. For example, they make an average salary of $50.24 an hour,  That's $104,489 a year. When it comes to the important skills required for a Java/J2ee Developer, it is seen that a lot of resumes had 10.4% of Java/J2ee Developers included Web Application development, 4.6% of resumes included JSP, and 3.9% of resumes included Html. Core skills like these are crucial to have when it comes to performing basic job responsibilities. The first thing that you must check to make sure that you get good J2EE developers is their background education and experience.

Education background and experience requirement 

Companies require that their employees have a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, software engineering, or any related degrees. However, employers may choose to overlook this requirement. It is because someone with a degree on computer-related courses does not ensure an employer that the candidate will prove to be a better J2EE developer. This requirement, however, can be replaced by experience. A person with years of experience in J2EE enterprise application development and other aspects of it is a more fitting candidate.

These candidates should also understand the software development life cycle processes. Besides, the developer must also have programming skills for client-side and server-side programming languages that can be used along with J2EE. It is important since not all the projects and clients will only require Java but other programming languages too.  In terms of personal qualities, they must have strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to work with others as a team.

Responsibilities and Job Outlook

With personal qualities and education, good J2EE developers must be aware of their responsibilities and job outlook.  Most Java programs are designed for server and web-based applications used on internet sites and computer systems.  After the developers finish developing a J2EE application or program, they will need to assess it professionally. After that, they need to test it to make sure its functions are running properly and it is bug-free before they deliver the application.

Roles and responsibilities of a J2EE developer

A J2EE Developer is responsible for the design, development, and management of J2EE application development. Because Java is used so widely in enterprise projects, particularly by large organizations, the daily roles may vary widely but can include maintaining a particular application or working on several at one time. The roles and responsibilities of a Java developer will be different depending on the company and specific position. Here are some examples of some typical responsibilities a J2EE developer should know how to practice:

• Managing Java and J2EE application development process
• Designing, implementing, and maintaining Java applications that are often high-volume and low-latency, required for business operation
• Contributing in all phases of the Software development lifecycle
• Delivering high availability and performance
• Writing efficient and testable code
• Handling software analysis, programming, testing, and debugging
• Ensuring that designs match with specifications
• Planning and producing releases of software components
• Promote continuous improvement
• Studying other options and technologies
• Presenting for architectural review
  
  

The skillset of an expert Java developer 

If you are looking for a full-stack Java programmer for a J2EE application development project, then these are skills you should look for to distinguish a candidate from other programmers. 

Software Design and Architecture

Software design and architecture is one of the most important phases of the software development process. Being able to see the whole picture and think through the problem at hand, and select the right architecture and technology stack to implement your project are essential skills for any software developer, not just a J2EE developer. 

DevOps tools

For modern Java developers, understanding of DevOps is essential. They should be familiar with continuous integration and continuous deployment steps and how Jenkins helps to obtain that. It becomes even more important for expert Java developers who set the coding best practices and create environments, build scripts and guidelines. They should have the knowledge of DevOps in general and tools like Docker, Ansible, Kubernetes, AWS, etc along with Maven and Jenkins.

Also, read Why is DevOps the Future of Software Production Cycles?

Spring Framework

It's almost imperative nowadays for a Java developer to have experience with Spring framework. Companies are most likely to do Java web application development using Spring frameworks like Spring MVC, Spring Boot, and Spring Cloud. It also encourages best practices like dependency injection to make your application more testable which is the main requirement for any software nowadays.

APIs and Libraries

If you have worked with expert Java developers in the past, then you might have noticed their overall understanding of the Java Ecosystem and APIs forms a key part of it. Java is the world's most popular and sophisticated programming language therefore, tons of libraries and APIs available for doing almost every task. Of course, you cannot expect them to know all APIs and libraries, but they should be familiar with some key ones, for instance, JSON processing APIs like Jackson and Gson, XML processing APIs like JAXB and Xerces, Unit testing libraries like Mockito and JUnit.

JUnit and Mockito

If there is one thing that separates an expert Java J2EE developer from an average one, then it's his unit testing skill. A professional Java developer almost always writes unit tests for his code, and you can see that from his code and tests to determine if he is an expert developer or not. Testing has also come a long way now with several tools for unit testing, integration testing, and automation testing available to Java developers. The latest version JUnit 5 is both robust and adaptable, and every expert Java developer should know that.

IDE

One essential trait of good Java developers is that they are proficient with their tools. They not only know how to use more tools than average developers but also understand their tools very well. Since IDEs like Eclipse, NetBeans, and IntelliJ IDEA are the primary tool for a Java developer, it makes sense to look for the ones who have mastered the skill to use these tools.

You may also read: PHP Vs Java for enterprise application development

List of basic J2EE developer skills

• JavaServer Pages (JSP) and servlets
• Web frameworks (e.g., Struts and Spring)
• Service-oriented architecture/web services (SOAP/REST)
• Web technologies like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and JQuery
• Markup languages like XML and JSON
• Object-oriented programming (OOP) concepts and patterns
• Abstract classes and interfaces
• Constructors
• File IO and serialization
• Collections: lists, maps, sets
• Access specifiers
• Exceptions (checked and unchecked)
• Generics
• Java keywords: static, final, volatile, synchronized, transient, this super, etc.
• Java virtual machine (JVM) and memory management
• Multithreading and synchronization
• Dependency injection
  
  

List of advanced J2EE developer skills

• AI and machine learning
• Blockchain
• Python
• Amazon Web Services
• Hadoop/Big Data
• Mobile technologies (Android or OS)
• Advanced JavaScript framework (e.g., Angular, React, VueJS)
• Spring Boot/microservices
  
  

Conclusion

J2EE is a platform that constantly adapts to new needs, and Java has consistently ranked as the most popular language worldwide for over a decade — there’s a new update every six months or so. It is most suitable to hire J2EE developers for your enterprise application development project. There are many Java J2EE developers available for hire who keep up with the constantly evolving language and enhance their skill sets with corresponding technologies. However, not all of them are skilled enough to satisfy a company’s needs. So consider the information mentioned in the blog when hiring expert J2EE developers.

Evon Technologies is a leading Software development and consulting company in India with expert Java developers and have helped so many businesses around the world by offering custom J2EE development and device-independent web portals with our architecture and W3C compliance. Our team of developers is proficient in Apache Camel, RabbitMQ & ActiveMQ and our broad knowledge of WSDL, UDDI, XML / XML Schema helps us integrate your diverse system.  Contact or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get the best of the latest J2EE web development.