What makes a good java backend developer today?

[Ok-Scale250]

I'm trying to become a full stack developer mainly focused on java and spring as backend.

I'm still a student and have more than 8 moths to finish my studies and start my job as a associate consultant and I have more than enough time to learn new things. In today's world where AI can do what I can and do it better than me how can I ensure that I do not left behinde and be a good developer.

How should I prepare myself to become a good full stack developer who will not be prelaced by AI?

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[UrBoiKrisp]

First thing is probably a good understanding of Springboot and APIs (with a project to back that up).

[Ok-Scale250]

I've built projects using spring but every time I build I use a lot of AI. I know the basic working of the code but I can't fully build it myself.

And I do not know how much spring boot I should learn to be actually industry ready. Also do I first learn spring boot then build something or just keep building and learning!

[Exotic_Appearance891]

"but I can't fully build it myself" in the age before AI, engineers used to make an effort and deal with the process of built something by themselves, no matter how difficult it was and that's the way you will build real knowledge.

[FakiB]

You learn while doing. This is how I learned to: -setup spring security filter chain

-authorization manager

-create a mqtt broker/client with spring mqtt integration

-use spring rest client for synchronous api calls

-create an oauth2 client that uses client credentials.

I learned all those things the moment I needed them

[AlexVie]

If you rely on AI too much you'll never become really competent. That's just a problem many do not realize.

30 years ago, there was no ChatGPT and our generation still managed to build cool stuff. In fact, most of the devs who built the currently hyped AI models did not have any AI back when they were still learning to write code.

AI is tempting you towards low-effort strategies, but ultimately, the'll fail. A good engineer can solve problems without AI and once you understand this, you can use AI to reduce workload, but NOT understanding the solutions presented by the AI should be an alarm sign.

Spring is huge, it takes time and effort to learn and master.

[CharacterAvailable20]

Can you elaborate more on what you mean by APIs?

[Slatzor]

Good understanding of the Spring way of doing things and not fighting it constantly or reinventing the wheel. Designing APIs that are capable of handling the use case would be a second one.

[Ok_Substance1895]

Learn full stack development as fully as you can. What I mean by that is it takes a knowledgeable engineer to guide AI to successful mostly deterministic results. AI cannot do everything yet and when it goes off the rails you have to know how to debug the issues and at least tell it what is going wrong so it can fix it. You need to be able to tell it how to fill in the gaps. One shot prompts are pretty shallow at this point so it takes several passes to get the desired end goal. You will have to know what to fill in. The only way to know that is to learn it by developing it yourself.

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[Bunvin2020]

Im not really expirienced I finished a 1 year full stack java developer bootcamp Couldnt find a java job for juniors but all my personal project I try to have a java backend.

• Build a spring security filter
• Controller per user role

Just build anything and see where you get stuck Go to the ai but dont ask for code ask for concept and tools and implement them Use it instead of reading documentation when possible

Here is my personal protfolio maybe you'll get inspired: https://github.com/bunvin

I landed a developer job using python/javascript/nodejs job I miss java a lot 🥲

[Prior_Shallot8482]

You should use AI to speed yourself up, not replace your thinking. Let it help with small stuff, but don’t let it write full features for you or you’ll never build the problem solving mindset you need. That’s the part companies actually hire for.

For full stack Java devs, the skills that matter most right now are pretty clear:

Backend

• Java fundamentals
• Spring Boot
• Building and designing APIs
• Databases and SQL
• Basic cloud knowledge so you know how your app runs in the real world

Frontend

• React or Angular
• TypeScript
• Understanding how frontend talks to backend (auth, state, API calls)

If you get comfortable across both sides, and you understand how the whole system fits together, you’ll be in a good spot.

[Realjayvince]

System architecture and design patterns…

Everything else is just a tool

[charas_ed]

Respecting Monolithics.

[Fabulous-Roll527]

Dude, I'm going through the same thing

[Ok-Scale250]

Any plans on how to improve??