how to become a java programmer

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

could anyone offer any guidance on how to train to become a java programmer - is it essential to get a degree? is self-study and certification likely to lead to employment? do employers only want younger candidates?

 

Oh man! Ad-blocking software has been detected! :'(

This website is run by the community, for the community... and it needs advertisements in order to keep running. Blocking our ads means your killing our stats!
Please disable your ad-block, or become a premium member to hide all advertisements and this notice.

Step one, Learn to program ! Really any language is a start...

I'd already learnt around twelve computer languages before I came to Java, and have learnt several more since.

Computer Science or Numerate degrees tend to help, not essential for everyone but the majority of programmers of all nationalities tend to have them.

It used to be easier to break into the industry without a degree, now it is pretty much a requirement, remember 50% of the current generation have degrees.

SCJP/OCJP can be helpful with some employers.

More important than anything is being able to demonstrate you can make a valuable contribution to a project, so evidence of contribution to open source, blogs, private projects, references, etc all help.

Lots of old programmers around, so age need not be a factor, however they often have 20+ years experience.