How Long Does It Take to Learn Java?

Java is a powerful and popular programming language with many applications. We use Java to build web and mobile applications, embedded systems, and many more.

There are many beginners and experienced developers who want to learn Java. But since Java is not an easy language, we can say that it will require quite an investment to learn it.

Usually, the time to learn Java depends on factors like your learning approach, ability to grasp new concepts, prior programming experience, learning purpose, etc.

This blog will talk about the time it takes to learn Java depending on the impacting factors and suggest the best way to learn it for beginners.

So let's get started.

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What Factors Impact Your Time Learning Java?

Out of many factors, here are the major factors that can impact the time it takes to learn Java:

• Prior programming experience
• Reason for learning Java
• Learning approach

Let's talk about each factor briefly.

Prior Programming Experience

Your prior programming experience significantly impacts your learning time. It also makes the learning process a whole lot easy.

For example, if you are from another programming language, say C++, you already know most programming concepts. And switching to Java only requires learning the syntax. It will hardly take a month or two, depending on the hours you give to learning.

If you are a beginner with no programming experience, it can take upto 6 months to grasp the Java concept fully. In this case, your focus is to learn programming concepts in depth through Java.

It is completely okay if you take more than 6 months. Don't jump or skip anything but give yourself time with the concept and practice as much as you can. It takes patience to learn Java.

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Reason For Learning Java

Your reason for learning Java and how proficient you aim to also impact your learning time.

For example, if you are learning to solve programming problems like "Find prime numbers between 1 and 100", learning the Java basics is enough, and it won't take long.

But if you aim to be a Java developer, you will need to learn Java and the related technologies required for the development. So this takes a long time.

According to the survey by CodeGym, here are the time taken for beginners, mid-level, and experienced developers to learn Java for the respective fields.

To become a Java Developer

 

The aforementioned time holds true when you invest 2-4 hours per day and 5-7 days a week.

The data shows that for a beginner with no prior experience, it can take upto 26 months to land their first job as a Java Developer.

Similarly, if you know some programming concepts from school or universities, you belong to the mid-level, and it can take upto 19.5 months to land your first job.

And for experienced programmers who know one or more other languages, it takes only 5 months to become a Java Developer.

Now, let's see similar data to become a QA Automation tester and Android developer.

To become QA Automation Tester

 

To Become Andriod Developer

 

Note that this data can differ for every individual for the factors like their learning approach, access to a mentor, ability to grasp new concepts, and effectively integrate them into their understanding.

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Learning Approach

You can learn Java through interactive courses, bootcamps, or programming books.

And with each approach, you might take a different time to learn the language.

Bootcamps

Bootcamps are short and intensive programs to train people to code and make them job-ready in 3-6 months.

Java bootcamps teach you programming fundamentals like data structures, object-oriented programming, databases, and API, which are essential to land a job.

You will also learn a lot about programming and related technologies in bootcamps. So you must brace yourself as too much information can overwhelm you.

Self-Learning

According to the Washington Post survey, 69% of programmers today are partially or totally self-taught, with 13% being entirely self-taught.

Since technology is forever changing, it is not practical to go to school to learn every trendy skill. You must surf the internet and learn things on your own.

You can learn programming yourself in the following two ways:

• Programming Books
• Interactive Courses

Learning through programming books is effective but you need a lot of dedication to complete it.

As there are no deadlines, certificates to motivate, or platform to interact with, most people find it dull to learn through programming books.

Books can definitely be a great source of learning, but for people who struggle with procrastination, interactive courses come to the rescue!

Interactive courses provide quizzes and challenges to test your knowledge and projects to ensure you are actually learning. They also provide you with a certificate to keep you motivated.

You can check our Java Interactive Course.

For a self-taught programmer, it can take approximately 4-6 months, depending on dedication level.

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How Difficult Is It to Learn Java For Beginners?

Java has a lengthy syntax compared to other languages, which can be hard for beginners. Let's see an example.

Java Program

class HelloWorld {
	public static void main(String[] args) {
		System.out.println("Hello, World!");
	}
}

Now let's see Python code for the same output.

print("Hello, World!")

You can understand Python code at a single glance, but the same cannot be said for Java.

This shows that Java can be hard to learn for beginners.

However, Java is still a recommended language for beginners as you can learn core programming concepts like object-oriented programming, multithreading, garbage collection, and many more.

To learn more, visit Is Java Hard to Learn?

With the right approach, you can definitely master Java like any other skill.

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What Is The Best Way to Learn Java?

Learning through interactive courses is the best way to learn Java (or any other programming language).

As mentioned earlier, interactive courses not only teach you programming but provide quizzes and challenges to put your knowledge to the test.

They also provide a certificate upon completion to keep you motivated. This approach is a lot better than passively learning through tutorials or programming books.

To learn more, visit Best Way to Learn Java.

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