Java Developer Hiring Trends [Updated]

Even though Java is one of the oldest programming languages, it still remains widely popular due to its constant evolution and addition of brand-new features. Java is used in a variety of applications and serves many industries, including finance and healthcare. With this in mind, it comes as no surprise that Java developers are seeing high demand from employers.

Such a demand influences certain Java developer hiring trends that are based on the market needs, employers’ requirements, and tendencies of language development. These trends possess a big amount of valuable insights that can be used by recruiters, employers, and developers themselves.

While recruiters and employers can learn about the developer’s behaviour and preferences, the developers, in turn, can assess their skill set and knowledge, and see whether it corresponds to modern market needs.

So, let’s take a look at everything you need to know about hiring Java developers - and don’t forget that if you need support finding the perfect candidate for your business, we can help. Just tell us what you need. We can do the work for you and connect you with up to 5 companies within 72h that match your need- all for free.

How popular is Java?

Java is the #1 language tested on Devskiller, with SQL and JavaScript coming in at 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Java remains one of the top-5 most in-demand programming languages, alongside Python and Javascript. The reason for such popularity lies in the fact that Java constantly evolves and offers new features to the developers that are aimed at facilitating and optimizing the development process.

What companies are using Java? It tends to be large organisations with large teams - so even though Java is used in fewer companies than Javascript, those that do use Java are enterprise-grade companies. This is probably down to the fact that Java is now used in such hot trends as reactive programming and machine learning development among top development companies - which small companies cannot usually afford to work on as such projects are often expensive and resource-intensive.

What are the most in-demand skills?

A good Java developer is expected to be familiar with the most common tools used for Java development. Here are some of the most in-demand skills, according to the research:

• Spring (includes knowledge of Spring and Spring Boot)
• Android development
• AWS
• Git
• Docker
• Jenkins
• NoSQL databases

An interesting fact about the majority of Java developers is that they mostly actively use Java 8 and are merely familiar with Java 9 or Java 10. Therefore, employers expect excellent knowledge of Java 8 and all of its powerful features, such as lambda expressions, Java Stream API, default and static methods for interface creation.

Employers also expect Java developers to be familiar with DevOps and to be confident with testing. DevOps can become the next step in one’s career growth which is especially important for Senior Java Developers.

As for testing, an increasing number of employers and developers are starting to recognise the importance of testing skills among developers and so it’s expected that good developers know their way around this. The basic testing tools for Java developers are JUnit 5 Library, Mockito, and Robot Framework. If you want to know the top Java development skills in demand right now, check out our article.

Find out more about the different tech stacks we work within the Pangea universe. We can connect you with the right people to do the job for you.

What are the most popular areas of Java application?

Java is used in a number of fast-growing areas such as:

• Reactive programming
• Big Data
• IoT
• Mobile app development

All these trends heavily impact the digital transformation of industries, such as AI (#Artificial Intelligence) in healthcare and Big Data in finance, so smart Java developers might want to get on board in order to work on the most high-demand projects.

The industries that use Java the most include finance, retail, gaming, and marketing. This can serve as a tip for Java developers in terms of where to find a future workplace. As for the employers, they can probably consider assembling a team of Java developers to work on a new project that could bring value to the company.

Are you looking for your remote Java team? If you need help selecting the right company, tell us what you need. We can do the work for you and connect you with up to 5 companies within 72h that match your need- all for free.

How Often Do Java Developers Change Their Job and What Does It Mean for HR?

Statistics show that most Java developers change their job every two years, which is a short period of time from a company’s perspective. If we investigate the reasons for such frequent job changes, the most common are lack of interesting projects and lack of motivation and personal growth.

This information is really valuable for HR specialists. By knowing that software engineers are prone to frequent job changes, recruiters can take additional measures to prevent this situation. They could evaluate the work atmosphere and level of satisfaction of employees or propose a new personal development strategy, for example, it's worth thinking about valuable offerings that will impact the employee’s decision.

It’s in the company’s best interests to retain employees so HR specialists should adopt new strategies of attracting and retaining their brightest talents in order to build a long-lasting relationship with them.

Bonus Tip: How to Hire a Professional Java Developer

In order to hire the developers that are most suitable for specific projects, it is highly recommended to follow several best practices when it comes to hiring Java developers.

First, check that the job description lists all the required skills and knowledge and fully corresponds to the open position.

Additionally, you should describe the project and give specific details that might interest developers. An informative job description typically includes the required years of experience, the necessary skill set, the domain of the project, and the key responsibilities that the developer will take on.

Recruiters should also pay attention to certifications as they indicate that the developer’s knowledge and skills are validated and correspond to Java requirements in terms of quality.

Second, test each developer’s knowledge and conduct a technical interview. We already mentioned the tools that every good Java developer is expected to be familiar with. But there are also certain development practices to look for, such as multithreading, cache coherence, JVM, memory management, and so on. A technical interview and a test task can successfully evaluate a candidate’s knowledge and help the recruiter and the project manager understand whether the candidate is a good fit or not.

If you need more tips on hiring a Java developer, you may want to read our article on the best practices for hiring a Java developer, with a job description template included.

Get ready to utilise these trends in the workplace

Java is a constantly evolving language that sees a high level of demand and sets high standards for the developers. If one wishes to have a stable career in software development, Java may be one of the best choices.