Java is still widely taught in universities, but far less commonly chosen for new work in practice. This article reframes the question “Should I learn Java?” as a problem of context, career intent, and developer productivity, drawing on real-world demand rather than syllabus inertia.

Contents

A Conversation About Languages, Careers, and Context

I was recently asked for advice by a student learning Java as part of a university module. The question was simple and familiar:

Do you know of any good resources to learn Java? The course feels very tailored to the coursework, and I want to make sure I really understand the language.

It’s a reasonable concern — but it’s also the wrong starting point.

The more important question isn’t how to learn Java. It’s why you’re learning it at all.

Java in Practice, Not Theory

It’s been years since I learned Java, and even longer since I actively chose it. That isn’t a matter of taste. It’s a matter of demand.

I’m no longer asked to build new systems in Java. The last time I was paid to touch it was to maintain — or more accurately, decommission — a large legacy Java estate that hadn’t seen meaningful feature development in over a decade.

That doesn’t mean Java is “dead”. It means it occupies a specific niche:

• large, established organisations
• long-lived enterprise systems
• maintenance-heavy environments
• risk-averse delivery cultures

This doesn’t mean Java is only used for legacy systems — new development continues in large enterprises, finance, and cloud-native backends — but it tends to occur in organisations that value stability, scale, and governance over rapid iteration.

If that’s the world you’re aiming for, Java remains relevant. If it isn’t, you should be honest about that early.

Language Choice Is a Career Question

When someone asks whether they should invest time learning Java outside lectures, my answer is usually another question:

What are you planning to work on?

Broadly speaking:

• Maintaining large, legacy systems?
  Java is still common.
• Building Microsoft-centric enterprise applications?
  .NET / C# remains dominant.
• Web applications in fast-moving teams?
  JavaScript ecosystems (Node, React) are far more typical.
• Mobile development?
  Kotlin (Android) or Swift (iOS).
• Small teams, greenfield products, high developer autonomy?
  Ruby on Rails, Python, or similar high-productivity stacks.

Language choice follows organisational culture more than technical merit.

Productivity Beats Fashion

Personally, I gravitate toward tools that maximise individual developer effectiveness. Ruby on Rails still embodies a belief that a single competent developer can build and evolve a full application without ceremony.

That philosophy matters more than syntax.

Java, by contrast, tends to thrive in environments optimised for scale, governance, and predictability rather than speed or experimentation. Neither approach is morally superior — but confusing them leads to frustration.

If You Do Need to Learn Java

If Java is required for your course or target role, then yes — learn it properly. Focus on:

• understanding the language model and standard library
• object-oriented design done well (not cargo-cult patterns)
• reading existing codebases, not just writing toy examples

Treat it as learning how certain organisations think, not just how a compiler works.

The Real Lesson

Universities often teach Java because it’s stable, assessable, and familiar — not because it reflects how most new systems are built in 2026.

That gap isn’t a failure. But students should be made aware of it.

Learning a language is never wasted effort. But learning why a language exists where it does is what turns education into judgement.

References and Further Reading

Books

1. “Effective Java” by Joshua Bloch: This book is great for understanding best practices and advanced concepts. Find it on Amazon
2. “Java: A Beginner’s Guide” by Herbert Schildt: An excellent starting point for beginners. Available on McGraw Hill and O’Reilly
3. “Head First Java” by Kathy Sierra and Bert Bates: Known for its engaging and interactive approach. Available here
4. “Java: The Complete Reference” by Herbert Schildt: A comprehensive guide, useful as a reference. Find it here
5. “Core Java Volume I & II” by Cay S. Horstmann: Offers in-depth coverage of Java fundamentals. Available on Amazon

Online Courses

1. Coursera: “Java Programming and Software Engineering Fundamentals” by Duke University. Coursera Java Programming
2. Udemy: Courses like “Java Programming Masterclass for Software Developers” by Tim Buchalka. Udemy Java Programming Masterclass
3. Codecademy: Interactive Java programming course. Codecademy Java Course
4. edX: “Learn to Program in Java” by Microsoft. edX Java Course
5. Pluralsight: Offers a variety of Java courses for different skill levels. Pluralsight Java Courses

Interactive Tutorials

1. Codecademy: Offers interactive lessons for beginners. Codecademy Java
2. JetBrains Academy (Hyperskill): Provides project-based learning. JetBrains Academy Java
3. CodingBat: Good for practicing coding problems in Java. CodingBat Java
4. LeetCode: Ideal for practicing more complex algorithmic problems. LeetCode Java

Video Lectures and YouTube Channels

1. TheNewBoston: Popular for beginners. TheNewBoston YouTube
2. Derek Banas: Known for his concise tutorials. Derek Banas YouTube
3. Java Brains: Offers in-depth tutorials on various Java topics. Java Brains YouTube

Online Documentation and Communities

1. Oracle Java Documentation: Official documentation for reference. Java Documentation
2. Stack Overflow: For asking questions and finding answers. Stack Overflow Java
3. GitHub: Explore Java projects and contribute to open-source. GitHub Java
4. Java Subreddit: A community for discussion and news. Java Subreddit

Practice and Project Ideas

1. GitHub: Explore beginner-friendly Java projects. GitHub Java Projects
2. Hackerrank and LeetCode: Practice Java coding problems. Hackerrank Java and LeetCode Java
3. Build simple applications: Like a calculator, to-do list, or a basic game.

Miscellaneous

• Official Oracle Java Tutorials: Good for understanding core concepts directly from the source. Oracle Java Tutorials
• Javadoc: Learn to read and understand Java documentation.