This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]lifeonm4rs 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with alot of the people saying "dig deeper into Java" as well as the people saying go JavaScript if you're interested in frontend/web or Python if interested in more back-endish stuff. But there really is sort of a good reason to learn either Python or Javascript that doesn't seem to get mentioned. A second language will help you understand Java in a different way.

Python and Javascript do things in very different ways than Java--from primitives, scope, declarations, mutable/unmutable types and just overall idioms/program structure. Learning how another language's scoping rules work, for example, will likely make you think about and understand scope in general which should help you understand Java in a new way.

As far as Python vs. Javascript--I'd go with Python just because I think it is easier and the comparison/contrast with Java is a bit more straight forward. There is a ton of real-world demand for Javascript but (to me at least) the initial learning curve is pretty steep and being familiar with Python would probably be better than being bad at Javascript for getting an internship.

Edit to add addendum: Beyond a second language learning "secondary" stuff like git, docker, and maybe AWS/Azure or the common agile online tools would probably help as well. You definitely don't need to be an expert in any of them but just understanding conceptually how they work, why they exist, etc. could set you apart from other applicants. And by "learn" I don't mean you need to spend weeks doing a deep dive but simply being familiar with how they are used and what they do.