Java Developer: Roles & Responsibilities, Skills, Salary, And More

Java is one of the most powerful programming languages that is almost 25 years old and runs on everything from laptops, mobiles, data centers, TVs, embedded systems, and game consoles to scientific supercomputers.

Here are some numbers that speak Java’s strength in the software development world:

Java is used in more organizations than any other development language

Java is the #1 development language for Microservices

Java remains the #1 programming language for developers

Source: Oracle.com

Java is amongst the top ten most widely used languages by developers worldwide with 30.55% usage in 2023

Source: Statista.com

The number of software developers who use Java reached 17.1 million in Q1 2023 according to Developer Economics

Source: developernation.net

Java celebrated its 25th birthday in 2020 and it is not surprising to say that it has been, and will remain a top choice of developers for today’s tech trends.

Since it runs on a large number of devices and most Android apps are written in Java, practically, the demand for Java developers will not see a decline soon. Java is not only popular for Android and the web but it is a preferred choice for DevOps, AI, serverless functions, continuous integration, chatbots, big data, and mobile. Despite several modern programming languages having their separate user bases and applications, Java development still has its unique charm and a massive ecosystem of Java products and technologies that are almost impossible to replace. Old is gold, remember?

Java Developer: An Overview

Java developer is one such trendiest and hottest job in the development world because of Java’s popularity, versatility, and stability. We definitely believe that Java developers will have a bright and rewarding future because of Java’s dominance in all types of tech niches.

As time goes by, the roles and responsibilities of Java developers keep changing and one must adapt to them to become a successful Java developer. This post talks about the roles and responsibilities of Java developers in detail along with skills, salary, scope, and interview questions.

Let’s get started.

Roles And Responsibilities Of Java Developer

The roles and responsibilities of Java developers may vary from company to company. As Java is a versatile language and has many different frameworks and use cases, the roles and responsibilities of Java developers differ as per the requirement.

In general, a Java developer is responsible to design, develop, and maintain Java-based applications. The responsibilities of a Java developer also depend on years of experience and seniority level. The journey of a Java developer starts with entry-level programmers and goes beyond the project manager of the Java development team in an organization.

A Java developer is a person who specializes in Java language and works with software engineers, designers, and developers to build apps, websites, and software products using Java.

Java Developer Responsibilities:

• Designing, implementing, developing, and maintaining applications using Java tech stack as per the requirements
• Understand business requirements and convert into technical specifications
• Contribute to SDLC (software development lifecycle) activities – requirement gathering, analysis, design, development, testing & integration, maintenance
• Constantly monitor and identify production and non-production issues and resolve them
• Writing clean, efficient, and secure code
• Ensure performance, security, stability, and quality of the application
• Improve existing systems by adding new features in line with business specifications
• Monitor performance and implement innovative solutions to improve the overall system
• Collaborate with peers and team members to build scalable, secure, and quality products
• Perform regular checks and follow best practices to develop, deploy, and maintain software
• Deployment of new features and products into the production environment

These above-mentioned responsibilities are general and may vary based on the requirement. Java is used for web, mobile, backend, and many other platforms. But the basic role remains the same – utilizing Java programming language to build great products.

Now, let’s look at the skills you require to become a Java Developer.

Essential Java Developer Skills

Technical Skills:

• Hands-on experience in Core Java
• Strong knowledge of object-oriented programming concepts, exception handling, and memory management
• Must know concepts of multi-threading and dependency injection
• Knowledge of HTML, XML, JSON, CSS, JavaScript, JSP, and Servlet
• Sound knowledge of relational and/or non-relational databases such as MySQL, MongoDB, etc.
• Ability to work with ORM frameworks and concepts such as JPA2 and Hibernate
• Working experience in any Java IDE tool such as Eclipse, Intellij IDE
• Experience in at least one framework – Spring, Struts, JSF
• Knowledge of build tools such as Maven, Gradle, etc.
• Version control (Git repository)
• Familiar with CI/CD and DevOps and tools like Jenkins, GitHub pipelines, etc.

Other Preferred Skills:

• Experience in developing SaaS, PaaS, and cloud-based web applications
• Knowledge of design principles and fundamentals of the software development lifecycle
• Familiar with Java libraries and integration of front-end with back-end
• Awareness of the quality standards and best code practices
• Basic understanding of domains and business processes
• Familiar with agile and DevOps methodologies
• Logical thinking, good analytical skills, and a problem-solving attitude
• Ability to multitask and manage projects with priorities
• Result-oriented, growth, and constant learning mindset
• Good team player and guides team members whenever required
• Excellent interpersonal skills, good verbal and written communication skills
• Must be updated with latest technologies and trends
• Analyze and create implementation strategies and improvement plans
• Contribute to the organizational processes to increase productivity
• Strong debugging skills and experience in test-driven development
• Good knowledge of testing and continuous deployment environment
• Passionate about delivering quality code within the timeline
• Hands-on experience in cloud application development and deployment
• Collaborate with the team and share improvement ideas, policies, and opportunities to increase the overall experience
• Experience in Agile development and tools like SCRUM, KANBAN, etc.

The above list contains several soft skills that are not tied to a specific job role. A job description of a Java developer requires specific tools and frameworks as a part of the requirement.

Java developer is one of the highest-paying and most rewarding jobs worldwide. Let’s see how much can you make if you are a Java developer.

Java Developer Salaries: How Much Can A Java Programmer Earn?

According to PayScale, The average salary for a Java Developer in India is ₹5,08,569.

The national average salary for a Java Developer is ₹5,10,000 in India according to Glassdoor salaries.

If we talk about the United States, the average salary for a Java developer is $1,05,027 per year.

Source: indeed.com

According to Salary.com, the average Java developer salary in the United States is $1,01,384 and the range typically falls between $85,817 and $1,14,324.

Source: salary.com

The average Java Developer Salary in the United Kingdom is £40,508

Source: payscale.com

We all know that the salary of a Java developer depends on many factors such as expertise, experience level, skill set, and location. It keeps changing from company to company based on the use case.

As it is one of the old and popular languages, you may find the interview and selection process of Java developers competitive and tricky but with preparation, confidence, and knowledge, you can nail the interview.

Java Developer Interview Questions:

• What is the difference between C++ and Java?
• What are the key features of the Java programming language?
• Explain JVM. What do you understand by JVM?
• Can you explain the difference between JRE, JVM, and JDK?
• What are constructors in Java?
• What is a singleton class in Java and how can we make a class singleton?
• What are the OOP concepts in Java?
• What is the JIT compiler?
• What is an Object?
• Can you make a constructor final?
• Explain the difference between constructors and methods.
• Why is the main method static?
• Which class is the superclass for all the classes?
• Are multiple inheritances supported in Java?
• Why does Java not support pointers?
• What is the difference between abstract classes and interfaces?
• What are the different types of inheritance in Java?
• What is method overriding and method overloading?
• What is encapsulation in Java?
• Explain dependency injection.
• What are some of the important Spring annotations that you have used
• Why is Java architecture Neutral?
• Name supported platforms by Java programming language.
• What is Polymorphism?
• What is the key benefit of encapsulation?
• What is NullPointerException?
• Is Java a pure OOP language?
• Tell us about the importance of the main method.
• Can we overload the main() method?
• What is the collection framework in Java?

Due to a large ecosystem of products and frameworks, interview questions greatly differ and may include questions related to java web development, app development, backend programming, and specific framework.

Why Hire Java Developers?

First and foremost, Java is easy to learn and use. Enterprises like using Java because it is a performant, reliable, and stable language. Secondly, it is easy to find Java developers compared to other programming languages. Big companies are hiring Java developers to leverage the open-source ecosystem to modernize their applications and build new ones. Java community is continuously thriving and there is an extensive ecosystem of libraries, tools, and frameworks. Java is heavily used for back-end programming because of its resiliency and scalability to handle concurrent users.

You can easily set up a team of dedicated Java developers in very little time. Longevity and suitability for diverse application types are the two prime reasons why large-scale industries hire Java developers. It’s pretty obvious as they seek language which is mature, scalable, secure, and modern.

What Is The Future Scope Of Java Developers?

Java is everywhere.

The future scope of Java developers is very broad and rewarding. They are one of the highly demanded and well-paid job professionals worldwide. For those who are just starting with Java or want to make a career in Java development, there are excellent sources and immense opportunities to go further in this path. Depending upon your qualification, interests, and skills, you can go for technical roles and managerial roles such as technical architect, project manager, full-stack java developer, and so on.

This role involves more than just coding – you need to learn and unlearn concepts, frameworks, and tools coming your way. Java developer is considered versatile as they tend to work with a myriad of technologies. Java is the best option for enterprise applications and large-scale industries. It is used by a large number of well-known brands and organizations combined with other technologies and modern cohesive infrastructure.

On top of all, android apps are built using Java – you can imagine the market trends and shares Java enjoys. Even if you learn modern languages and tools, Java will be there as your base. The future scope of Java developers is indeed great and no one can deny it.

The Rise Of Full-Stack Java Developer: Highest Earning Potential And Brightest Future Scope

Full-stack developers are in demand. They are capable of working on end-to-end software development right from design to development to deployment. A full-stack Java developer has extensive knowledge and expertise to work on front-end and back-end parts of the application using Java technology stack.

Java full-stack development includes technologies like Java, RESTful web services, Spring, Hibernate, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, SQL/NoSQL, and everything that is required to build feature-rich software. The role of Java Developer is versatile and also requires advanced skills in planning, development, deployment, maintenance, and a continuous improvement mindset.

In today’s time where software development includes more than one technology and framework, hiring a full-stack developer is an excellent choice for tech-savvy organizations.

Before we conclude, let’s see companies using Java.

Who Uses Java?

As we already said Java is the language of business applications, it is widely used in backend systems, portals, websites, and mobile apps. Java’s “write once, run anywhere” (WORA) principle makes it one of the most popular and most-liked programming languages globally. It was developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems in 1995. Today, Java is a part of the Oracle.

List Of Companies Using Java Technology:

• Google
• Netflix
• Amazon
• Slack
• Instagram
• Airbnb
• Uber
• Pinterest
• Spotify

It is used in Android development, backend development, financial portals, games, web applications, trading apps, big data markets, scientific applications, and real-time apps.

Java Developer: A Promising Career

Java consistently performs better. More and more organizations are turning to Java to modernize their stacks and improve performance. Many tools and even programming languages are built using Java. With over two decades in software development, it has proven its stability and ability to withstand the ever-changing tech world. If you are getting started with Java, we wish you a bright future ahead. And if you are a senior Java developer, we suggest that you learn different skills to be able to get more lucrative and satisfactory roles ahead.

We would like to hear your stories if you are a Java developer and developing a diverse range of applications.