Path to junior developer (java/kotlin). How much time will it take?

Question

Java

Hello, I want to hear your opinion. Briefly describe the situation. About 10 years ago I studied html, css, php, SQL as a hobby. I made simple websites on a local server. I liked it, although I studied the whole thing rather superficially. Then, due to circumstances, I had to abandon it. At the moment, due to the seasonal nature of my work, I sit at home with the children, and my wife got a job to give me the opportunity to learn a programming language and find a job already in the IT field. I am mentally prepared for the fact that I will have to spend more than one month, but still I want to understand how long it can take to learn Java, and subsequently Kotlin, in order to qualify for the position of an Android developer. To what extent does having a certificate of completion of paid / free courses help in finding a job or is the employer primarily interested in the candidate's knowledge? I understand that it's all individual, but it's interesting to hear your opinion. Perhaps share your story and give some good advice. Thank you!

Answer 1

Good afternoon.
I'll tell you about my path of becoming a developer and maybe it will give you some thoughts and maybe even help you make a decision.

About 10 years ago I studied html, css, php, SQL as a hobby.

Likewise. True, that was 13 years ago. I then scored on RNR. The first site was generally raised on Microsoft FrontPage, then various CMSs (Joomla, WP, Drupal) already went. Graduated from high school in another specialty. I freelanced for 3-4 years as a VP developer, but at some point I got tired of riveting websites and wanted something more. Then I owned PHP, js at a certain level, but there was no desire to write on it. The choice fell on Java. I started learning on my own in 2018 (I wrote parsers, JavaFX applications, a couple of Android applications, etc.). But given my love for the web and for the enterprise, in 2020 I completed a 6-month Java Core & Java Enterprise course. I studied a lot myself. I read books, took courses on udemy, studied someone else's code on github, took small, simple orders, wrote pet projects, etc.

To what extent does having a certificate of completion of paid / free courses help in finding a job or is the employer primarily interested in the candidate's knowledge?

Of course, knowledge is more important. And the level of your knowledge is determined at the interview.

Path to junior developer (java/kotlin). How much time will it take?

First of all, it depends on you. In courses, the teacher can shove the entire textbook into you, but not the fact that you will remember it. But the minimum time is probably 6 months. As a rule, the Java Core course takes about 3 months and the Android API takes 3-4 months as well. That's enough time for you to get settled as a trainee || junior.
Here are some useful links to help you achieve your goals:
https://www.hackerrank.com/
https://refactoring.guru/
https://www.baeldung.com/
https://www.it-academy .by/
tutorials.jenkov.com
https://www.tutorialspoint.com/java/index.htm
https://vladmihalcea.com
https://github.com/enhorse/java-interview
Google
Don't forget about tutorials:
Java head first (although I don't really like it)
G. Schildt - The Complete Guide to Java
R. Laforet - Java Algorithms and Data Structures
B. Eckel - Java Philosophy
RG. Urma - Modern Java language.
B. Goetz - Java Concurrency in Practice
, etc.

Answer 2

This question does not have a clear answer, it depends on many factors.
You immediately have two minuses:
Once abandoned
Family with children
IMHO from a year to infinity.

Answer 3

On average, learning the first language from scratch takes from six months to a year. But there are a lot of those who did not cope at all, even after spending significantly more time.

Answer 4

Personally, it is very difficult for me to study languages ​​on my own, in particular Java / Kotlin. And I bought textbooks and tried courses like JavaRush, of course I watched YouTube and everything was not right. Need a mentor! I stopped at paid courses at universities, so at least the beginning and end of the training program is visible, otherwise I taught myself, tried to write something - there is no end to this. Of the latter, I liked the Kotlin course on openedu.ru. Well, full-time courses at institutes are the most! There are the basics of the language and practice, and a small-scale project in the portfolio, a certificate, of course. It's hard to find a job without documents if you haven't written 100,500 projects in 100,500 languages ​​for several years (well, in general, if you're not a hacker from the cradle) - the surest way is to go to college. Not necessarily on the tower, screensavers almost every technical course holds. I've been messing around for a few years now. Only I chose the language for several months, then endless bidding with the choice of where to study (all sorts of skillfactories and others attacked). Internal courses of Oracle of norms, but in English it is not strong and too burned out once again. Of the latter, I chose between Specialist.ru and MSTU Bauman, in fact, I stopped at Baumanka, if you are serious about learning programming, then it’s not at Vasya’s entrance. Full course BroCode in YouTube is also ok. Start writing a project during your studies and update it on github, over time it will become your portfolio. Well, that's probably how it works. Look towards VR/AR technologies. I decided on the language, decided on the place of study, but I didn’t decide what I want to get as a result. Is it a game, is it a website, is it a corporate application, or is it a remote control for a washing machine))) then endless bidding with a choice of where to study (all sorts of skillfactories and others attacked). Internal courses of Oracle of norms, but in English it is not strong and too burned out once again. Of the latter, I chose between Specialist.ru and MSTU Bauman, in fact, I stopped at Baumanka, if you are serious about learning programming, then it’s not at Vasya’s entrance. Full course BroCode in YouTube is also ok. Start writing a project during your studies and update it on github, over time it will become your portfolio. Well, that's probably how it works. Look towards VR/AR technologies. I decided on the language, decided on the place of study, but I didn’t decide what I want to get as a result. Is it a game, is it a website, is it a corporate application, or is it a remote control for a washing machine))) then endless bidding with a choice of where to study (all sorts of skillfactories and others attacked). Internal courses of Oracle of norms, but in English it is not strong and too burned out once again. Of the latter, I chose between Specialist.ru and MSTU Bauman, in fact, I stopped at Baumanka, if you are serious about learning programming, then it’s not at Vasya’s entrance. Full course BroCode in YouTube is also ok. Start writing a project during your studies and update it on github, over time it will become your portfolio. Well, that's probably how it works. Look towards VR/AR technologies. I decided on the language, decided on the place of study, but I didn’t decide what I want to get as a result. Is it a game, is it a website, is it a corporate application, or is it a remote control for a washing machine))) but he is not strong in English and also burned out once again. Of the latter, I chose between Specialist.ru and MSTU Bauman, in fact, I stopped at Baumanka, if you are serious about learning programming, then it’s not at Vasya’s entrance. Full course BroCode in YouTube is also ok. Start writing a project during your studies and update it on github, over time it will become your portfolio. Well, that's probably how it works. Look towards VR/AR technologies. I decided on the language, decided on the place of study, but I didn’t decide what I want to get as a result. Is it a game, is it a website, is it a corporate application, or is it a remote control for a washing machine))) but he is not strong in English and also burned out once again. Of the latter, I chose between Specialist.ru and MSTU Bauman, in fact, I stopped at Baumanka, if you are serious about learning programming, then it’s not at Vasya’s entrance. Full course BroCode in YouTube is also ok. Start writing a project during your studies and update it on github, over time it will become your portfolio. Well, that's probably how it works. Look towards VR/AR technologies. I decided on the language, decided on the place of study, but I didn’t decide what I want to get as a result. Is it a game, is it a website, is it a corporate application, or is it a remote control for a washing machine))) Start writing a project during your studies and update it on github, over time it will become your portfolio. Well, that's probably how it works. Look towards VR/AR technologies. I decided on the language, decided on the place of study, but I didn’t decide what I want to get as a result. Is it a game, is it a website, is it a corporate application, or is it a remote control for a washing machine))) Start writing a project during your studies and update it on github, over time it will become your portfolio. Well, that's probably how it works. Look towards VR/AR technologies. I decided on the language, decided on the place of study, but I didn’t decide what I want to get as a result. Is it a game, is it a website, is it a corporate application, or is it a remote control for a washing machine)))

Answer 5

Hey!
As others have rightly pointed out, it's all very situational.
I can only speak for myself and my point of view.
I was a Java tutor for a while and noticed a few basic (and quite obvious) points:

1. Someone understands certain topics faster, someone vice versa. It can only be determined de facto
   
2. Some people don't need deep knowledge. And this is a matter of principle - how deep to dig
   

Regarding my history, I started learning the language at school, but for a long time it did not lead to anything (including due to the lack of discipline in this matter). At some point, after burnouts, changes of interests and surrounding factors, I caught fire. I still burn. If you love the thorny path that you have to go through all the time and concentrate not on "I need to go through these topics because I want to go through social security", but on "I want to go through these topics because this is something interesting and new for me", then I think you can comfortably enter the industry.
The commentator above gave a good list of literature - I definitely approve. I advise you to watch various conferences over time (Joker, Jug.ru etc.). As for courses like Skillboxes and others, I have a negative attitude. In some vacancies, it is even strictly stated that such courses are not a guarantee / plus when passing an interview. Stepik courses, coursers and other resources are often more structured and interesting.
And one more thing, it's good if you speak English at the level of reading documentation and viewing tutorials, and if not, I advise you to pull it up as quickly as possible.
Good luck!

Answer 6

My advice, if you have already decided to go in this direction - forget it for real, learn pure Kotlin. One to the other is now very indirect, and Java is seriously losing ground both in popularity and in value. Kotlin, on the other hand, is growing quite steadily, it is a little easier to master and more in demand. In addition, Java is more about large legacy desktop / network applications, they are more looking for people with more experience and a middle + level. With Kotlin, it’s usually a mobile segment, where applications are smaller and less legacy, respectively, to edit bugs in legacy code, most likely you won’t be imprisoned from the start, you can immediately write something normal.

Answer 7

1. Go/call 3 social services. Understand what is being asked.
2. Practice what is being asked.
3. Go to 10 social security services.
Repeat until you receive an offer.
After the offer, repeat after 1.5-2 years (most people do this, if you like it, you can stay for more years).
The main thing: first call the social security, and not bury yourself in books / videos for months. That's how you get motivated. This is the main thing. And then you will DEFINITELY start reading (at least 30 minutes before the social security call).