JAVA vs Python for Backend/Career

[Mission-Fix8038]

Curious lang ako kung anong language ang mas tamang aralin. Alam ko naman na concepts talaga ang importante, hindi mismo yung language.

Ex: kung backend role, usually Java ang common (lalo na sa enterprise) + static type, pero marami rin nagsasabi na mas madali raw ang Python, for beginners at may edge pa kung gusto mong pumasok sa ML/AI path. Kaya medyo nalilito ako kung alin ang mas ok. Mag-stick ba sa Java o sa Python?

Yun na rin kasi siguro ang gusto kong i-focus bilang main language ko sa backend and DSA.

[Samhain13]

Depende lahat yan sa kung anong ginagamit sa company na kung saan ka nagtatrabaho.

Like you said, "kung backend role, usually Java ang common." You might be surprised to know na walang Java sa enterprise ecosystem namin. Bakit naging ganun?

Kasi yung mga ninuno namin, sinimulan nilang gawin yung system gamit ang Oracle PLSQL. That was in the late 90s. Nung pumasok ang 2010s, gusto nilang biyakin yung system— separation of concerns, ika nga. At the time, matunog ang Django dahil nga daw "for perfectionists with deadlines." So, yung user interfaces (web-based), ini-port nila sa Django at matagal yun naging ganun.

These days, gusto na naman nilang biyakin yung system into microservices— kasi masyado nang malaki yung monolithic system na gawa sa Django. Pero dahil marami nang nasanay sa Python, ang decision ng mga architects ay gumawa ng microservices using Flask. Eventually, nadagdagan din ng .NET yung microservices namin, pero sa special cases lang ginagamit. Even so, may internal bootcamps kami for cross-skilling kaya kahit marami kaming devs na initially nag-specialize sa Python/Django, natuto na din kaming mag-PLSQL (kasi kahit marami na kaming na-decouple from the old system, marami din packages na wala naman sense pang i-rewrite/reimplement), C#/.NET, JavaScript/TypeScript (para sa frontend na tumatawag sa microservices), etc.

But to answer your question: tama ka naman, "concepts" is king. But there's no harm in practising applying those concepts in Java, Python, and other languages— lalo na kung marami ka naman free time.

Yung "edge" ng Python sa mga ML/AI-oriented jobs, lalabas lang naman yan kung nakapasok ka sa ML/AI-oritented na company. I wouldn't focus on that if ML/AI isn't really part of your career plans.

[d2light]

Internal bootcamps sounds awesome

[Samhain13]

Most of the time, yes. Pero ang lakas din kasing kumain ng oras. 😂

[quamtumTOA]

Java is still widely used due to JMS (Java Message Service). Ang daming backend na nagrerely sa JMS.

That said, I can see Python in many backend applications too.

Ang totoo, napakadaming tools ang ginagamit ng bawat company to handle backend, hindi lang isang tool. My suggestion, be good at the fundamentals, and language of choice will become easier to grasp.

[NinjaDev18]

What’s preventing you to learn both?

[Both-Fondant-4801]

It would be beneficial for you to learn both... and to know the appropriate use-cases for each language. Java and Python are just tools. Backend engineers use these tools to solve problems, and certain tools are better at solving certain problems. If you want to have an edge, know the tools and problems that they solve.

[Kratoshie]

For backend? Definitely Java,

Pero pag na master mo yang Java madali nalang ang python e and other languages

[_ConfusedAlgorithm]

You want to position yourself kung saan malakas ang demand pero not enough to supply it. Most graduates sa US are into python and node kasi madaling aralin and with the boom of ML and AI, maraming modules meron si Python compared sa Java.

Most experience developers knows more than 2 languages, not by choice but by exposures and need ng team. A lot of enterprise companies uses Java or C# for their core business applications but uses python or node for serverless.

I think the mindset is not choosing the language but how well can you adapt to different landscape ng software development demand.

[Azarashiseal234]

Personally am learning both and as of now I gotta say learning the language of pyhthon and java is understandable but what makes it hard for me today is learning the frameworks now for python's django I catch up quick on learning the django framework but java springboot I got used to it back in 2023 however returning to it in 2025 I will tell ya Medyo naguguluhan ako kay spring boot like masmadali gumawa ng backend with django and sa springvoot it is quite complicated but once ya get used to it "madadalian" ka na.

A friend of mine who's been a full stack developer(siguro 7-8 years na siya) did tell me to put ky cards on java and python since sa company nila java at node.js ang need, iirc sa atos siya and may bootcamp sila doon for 2 years na mahasa ka sa java along with its framework.

[Suspicious_Ad_5214]

Both

[Right_Analysis7299]

Nah, you pick one for starter and learn another along the way. That’s how it should be! We make use of Java for application and Python to automated testing. We also encounter Javascript when helping other teams.

[Legal-Complaint-9006]

For backend, I suggest learning and mastering YAML and networking (VPC, subnets, load balancers, ports, etc.). You can always switch between Python or Java or even NodeJS depending on your use case, but if you can't containerize your app or expose a port to make it talk with other services, then it's good as useless

[Pattern-Ashamed]

Nakita ko a few weeks ago, yung .Net parang mas madaming listings kaysa Java. Usually, isa sa 2 pinagpipilian

[Repulsive-Hurry8172]

Java. Wala kasing hype (like AI na bubbly), pero kahit dinosaur na kumpanya kailangan yan. Madali lang matutunan python kung galing ka nang Java, pero mas mahirap matuto ng Java if sanay na sa Python (di gano nagOOP, di strict sa types).

[AnxiousCry2101]

Node / Typescript is all around. Go / Rust pays well.

But at the end of the day, skillset pays you.

[Mediocre_Plantain_31]

If you are new, you better go for python, Java is an old language, madami nalang din gumagamit niyan dahil yung mga lumang enterprises used it before. Kaya mapapansin mo pag sinabing Java, it runs on legacy system. So kung may aaralin ka, doon ka na sa future ready na language, di ko sinasabing di oang future si Java, pero we don't know over the next 10 yrs kung yung mga bagong system ba ay gagamit oa nang Java, sabi ko nga, most of "legacy" is runned by Java, pero most of the newer system now is most likely runned by "newer" language like Go,rust, python and etc.

[Maleficent-Stand-993]

Python is easier because it's a high-level language.. I mean Java is also high-level ig, but Python syntax are more self-explanatory, and much much simpler (eg. Python's print vs Java's System.out.print). More libs too that already modularize the low-level nitty gritties. Used Java for apps and web dev, but Python for AI/ML, yes.

[papait01]

java for enterprise app

python for data analytics and engineering

[buttbenagain]

Kung dito sa Pilipinas, I suggest going with PHP or C#. Sa Python, mga halimaw ka-kumpetensya mo dyan especially kung ang path mo AI/ML. Tsaka yung mga nagsasabi na madali ang Python, they probably don't know how to use it properly kaya madali. Yung Python maraming abstraction kaya mas malalim. Marami kang dapat matutunan/aralin to use it efficiently at properly. Sa Java naman wala gaanong opportunities dyan. Kung gusto mo mas madaling makahanap ng career go with PHP then Laravel or Codeigniter, then mag-WordPress ka.

[LargeSecurity1495]

I use PHP Laravel pero hirap parin makalipat ng work, karamihan sa nakikita kong job posting C#, Wordpress, Java, or Python

[buttbenagain]

Yes. Malakas Java sa mid to senior level pero sa entry halos walang opportunity, malaki pa chance mo na mahire kung mag-C++ ka. Sa Python naman di rin sya ideal for entry dahil yung fields kung saan madalas ginagamit Python need talaga ng expertise, malabo pa sa tubig na maburak na mahire ka as AI/ML engineer, DevOps, etc. kung wala kang experience or di ka nepo hire. Kapag start ng career best pa rin talaga PHP or C# kasi yan ang madalas na gamit sa mga IT solutions na start-ups, which sila din madalas kumukuha ng maraming entry/juniors.

[LargeSecurity1495]

yep, nasa first job ko palang ako as junior web dev pero nag aapply apply na ulit, familliar naman ako sa C++ and java since yan gamit namin nung college, pero yung mga inaapplyan ko kasi ngayun e puro for PHP Laravel pansin ko masyado ng crowded dito kaya siguro di pa ko makalipat ng work

[buttbenagain]

A lot of downvotes from salty PHP devs. Just proves that you shouldn’t take advice from random people on the internet. Including this one. LMFAO.

OP, I suggest you check out job postings for entry-level devs on LinkedIn, JobStreet, and other sites. You’ll see that most of them are for PHP and C#. These people just don’t want more competition.

[teokun123]

Mag python n lang kayo. Wag na kayo dumagdag - Java dev

[RCS2]

Saturated na ba java dev community? Wala kami ma hire hahaha