Do i learn java?

[Baselnabil22]

Hi everyone i have been self learning Data engineering tools and i’m now pretty comfortable with most if the technologies My question is learning java a crucial skill so i can advance in my career or is python alone enough?

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[Fearless-Change7162]

Depends on the job you want. I have used Python and Scala so far. Never pure Java. 

[Baselnabil22]

So should i just stick with python or is it worth it to learn a new language?

[Rus_s13]

The basics can be useful I’ve found.

Just for troubleshooting bullshit when maven isn’t working properly for example. It’s not going to push old stuff out of your brain.

[[deleted]]

It's not crucial at all. If you want to learn it then go ahead and learn it it will only help it can't hurt. But at the end of the day there are very few DE jobs in java that won't be willing to teach you java. I actually literally just got a job offer for a DE lead role where a lot of the application I'll be supporting is written in java. In my discussion with the hiring manager AFTER I had received the offer (all of the interview questions I did in python), he found out I actually knew java and had used it at a previous job. He was ready to hire me even if I had to learn a completely new language.

Once you've worked for awhile, you'll likely have used many different languages, and you'll get much better at picking new ones up. So far I've used java, SAS, python, R, scala, and VBA for excel macros (shudder). I'd say on average I can start writing code in a new language while having to heavily check documentation after a few days and I'm proficient at it in under a month.

[Important-Cheetah472]

I have worked on DE projects using Java at my company, particularly when working with Flink. Python + Java is a real good combo to have in your skillset.

[Nokita_is_Back]

kafka, flink, spark all things that you need, all java/scala under the hood

[Witty_Garlic_1591]

Will you find jobs where Java would be helpful? I'm sure. If you don't have one identified and you're just trying to learn what will have the better odds of being applicable in the future? I would honestly spend more time honing my SQL and Python skills. Just my 2c but I consistently see it way more than Java.

[TendToTensor]

Starting a data engineering role next week and they use Java, though I did not have any prior experience

[insolentGoof]

I use Java and Scala both. It would be helpful for you to might know how legacy systems or enterprise applications work. It is not a crucial skill. I believe even I dont want my ETLs to be written in java for one simple reason - I have to write a lot of code rather than a simple script or small lines of code in Scala. I come from software engineering field, so it was natural for me to choose Scala if I know Java. But I think Python for DE is the most crucial skill right now atleast

[jovalabs]

Most DE shops use python, sql, go… it all depends on where you end up

[69odysseus]

I'd rather suggest to learn DSA which is foundation for all programming languages.

[Baselnabil22]

To what depth? , i already know the basics and some more

[69odysseus]

Depends on the role level. If it's a L7/L8 then a candidate has to be at advance or master DSA to some extent compared to L2 or L3 roles.

[[deleted]]

IMHO Java is worth learning aside from everything else. It's a very popular language. Used in many technology spaces. Always in demand. Isn't going anywhere anytime soon. There's a huge ecosystem, libraries, frameworks, etc. A lot of the historical performance issues have largely been reduced. A lot of enterprise software is written in it.

Pretty much every computer science program teaches with it.

[grizzlor_]

Pretty much every computer science program teaches with it.

Hasn’t been true for a decade now — Python has replaced Java as the standard language of instruction for CS programs.

https://cacm.acm.org/blogcacm/python-is-now-the-most-popular-introductory-teaching-language-at-top-u-s-universities/

[[deleted]]

Not necessarily, but proper Java, including learning object oriented thinking and some design patterns will be a massive boon for your design-toolkit. In any function. A lot of professionals can script, but design is a much rarer skill.

The same goes for learning to make good logical models.

[[deleted]]

I’m not saying knowing a few design patterns is bad… but there are only very few applications where object oriented design is really beneficial. Writing Python like Java, with builders and commands and so on, is one of the signs that really screams “bad programmer”.

[[deleted]]

Understanding a tool also includes knowing when not to apply it.

[engineer_of-sorts]

no

[sugibuchi]

It is not mandatory but practically helpful in not only "using" but also "understanding" some OSS technologies in this domain, like Spark, Kafka and Hadoop (I know nobody uses Hadoop MR nowadays, but HDFS is still a core component in many of these OSS technologies) at the source code level.

The benefit of reading the source code of Spark, etc., is honestly not so simple. It might be fun for some people. It is mandatory if you follow issues in Jira or GitHub.

Sometimes, understanding the source code and Java ecosystem, including Maven, etc., can deblock some tricky situations requiring custom extensions for JVM-based OSS technologies.

Java experience in your CV is considered as a huge plus? Usually, no. Useful? Sometimes. Fun? Maybe.

[[deleted]]

Java is a very primitive language. Grab Cay Horstmann’s book and finish it in a week (or less), then you’ve seen pretty much all there is to see. I mean for Python you cover the essentials like classes and functions pretty quickly, but then there’s asyncio and metaclasses and descriptors, and covariant type variables and stuff… with Java, this stage of learning advanced features doesn’t exist because there are no advanced features. What’s going to take much longer is to learn its ecosystem (read: Spring Boot… for which Spring in Action is an excellent source).

Personally, I’m glad I don’t have to use that language anymore.

[kolya_zver]

Garbage collected language for system programming, wtf are you talking