by Anggie Aziz, Programmer at Mitrais

If you would like to become a “multilingual” programmer, you may be confused about what to learn next. After joining Mitrais, I realized that most of the people here have a second stream skill and most of them have chosen Mobile, which is a mainstream movement.

After doing some research, reading articles, talking with experts and seeking advice, I finally chose Java as my next programming language to learn, here’s why:

Ease of Learning

Java is relatively more straightforward to determine if you have a good learning plan (discuss it with experts) and you are already familiar with OOP (Object Oriented Programming). There are a lot of tutorials and references available for this programming language—and its frameworks. It’s also possible for you to find old tutorials in some cases, but don’t worry, Java is backwards compatible, this will allow you to understand the old-fashioned way (still needed for some clients!) while you can also learn the new-fashioned way—for example, the diamond operator. Personally, I recommend you check Tutorialspoint because they provide a systematic tutorial that might be easier for you to understand.

Powerful Development Tools

IDE tools have played a massive role in making Java one of the best programming languages. Not only helping in code completion but they also provide powerful debugging capabilities and version control which is essential for real-world development. IDEs make Java development more robust and less painful. If you are struggling to choose the right IDE to suit your taste, you should check this post for help.

Excellent Documentation Support (Javadoc)

Documentation is critical in helping maintenance become more cost-efficient and less painful because maintenance consumes 40 to 80 percent (average 60 percent) of software costs. Working with Javadoc will ensure your documentation is continuously updated because it checks that the code’s comments are valid for the current code. Therefore, by using an IDE you can get all the information you need while developing directly from your IDE window.

Java is Popular

No kidding! Because of its class-based, object-oriented language and design for portability, Java is popular among programmers. As we can see at TIOBE index—for April 2017, Java is still the most Popular Programming Language in the World, the lowest position for Java in this index since 2001 is at the second place! Knowing this, you don’t need to worry about making a bad career move nor about ongoing community support or available resources for this programming language.

Java is everywhere

It’s on servers, it’s on desktops, it’s on mobiles, it’s on TV, it’s on the cards, it’s in your car, it’s in outer space, it’s almost everywhere, isn’t it? Java can help you to expand your career into many platforms that are supported by Java and JVM (Java Virtual Machine). For example, by learning Java, you can become a software engineer for Android Apps, TV Apps, Car Apps, Big Data and much more.

This is made possible because Java is running on JVM which abstracts the Operating System (OS) and you only must ensure that your code is running on JVM, which will make your code work with the underlying OS. That’s why Java’s tagline is “Write Once, Run Anywhere”, also known as WORA.

Used in Real World Applications

Most prominent websites use Java, including Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, eBay, and more. Java is also excellent for developing enterprise applications in virtually any industry including healthcare, manufacturing and (mostly) financial services because of its maturity and security. Furthermore, this article may be helpful for you.

Highly Paid and In Demand

According to B2C (Business 2 Community), the highest paid programming language for 2016 is—of course—Java! Mostly because it offers enormous libraries, more security and maturity, which is perfect for enterprises and will directly impact a Java programmers’ salary. Along with that fact, there are tons of open positions waiting for you due to Java’s widespread usage. You may also find some exciting ways to earn a living with Java.

Parallel Improvement

This is the ultimate factor, by learning Java, you will find so many exciting concepts and best practices along the journey that is possible for you to implement it into your current programming skill, such as their OOP best practices, SOLID principles, dependency injection and many more.

Conclusion

Java is a massive system with a high market and a “bright” future. This programming language also offers a relatively high salary and tons of available jobs, and the fact that you can code on various platforms with only one programming language is inevitable sexy. However, you will be the final judge on what works for you.