realistically speaking, could a seasoned .net developer enter the java space and land a job?

Question

I've been working with .net since 2001, and I am considering making a move into the java space.

I find that java has so many more mature tools (hibernate is more mature, spring framework, established patters/designs, containers, distributed cache frameworks, etc etc.)

I have been doing .net, and just recently I have been getting into design patterns, ORMS, etc. and it just seems the .net side of things are not as mature. Yes the trend going forward looks great as more and more are getting into this design strategy etc.

I don't want this to get into a flame war, but I read that its not about the framework/stack, but the tools around it are what make the difference. And to me Java seems to be the winner.

Anyhow, the real question here is, could I realistically get into shape in 6 months? i.e. Someone would consider hiring me, and not at a junior dev pay rate?

Is this a bad idea?

Answer 1

If you use C# (or C++) then you should have few problems going into the Java world. If you use VB then there is more work as the languages are different, but not insurmountable. If you're willing to study then I see no reason you shouldn't be able to. I've changed from C++ to Java to C# with no problems.

Personally I think it is more fair to say that some of the tools are better in one and some are better in the other. Personally I like Eclipse better than Visual Studio (and Emacs better than both ;-) but I like C# better than Java. YMMV.

Answer 2

I'm sure it won't be as easy as landing a .NET job as that is what you have experience with, but personally when we hire we first look to a persons development skills (Java specific or not), and then the language specifics are secondary. However I'm sure that depends a lot on the job too. If the job is specifically for development in a particular tool/framework it may be a hard requirement to have the specific experience. However in other cases it may be enough if you say you had 8 yrs .NET experience and over the past 6 mo learned whatever specific Java stuff and were able to show what it is you can now do with Java. We've found people with C#/.NET experience able to switch over to Java relatively well (and vice versa). I think it will be important for you to highlight somehow on your CV that you've been studying Java and are becoming familiar with it if you're target Java specific jobs.

Answer 3

If you can program solidly in one language/platform it is much easier to pick up a second. There will be differences, and Java has a fairly large API/set of tools.

I moved from C++ to Java in 1995 (alpha 2 of Java). It took me a day to pick up the syntax, a week to get comfortable in the language, and a month to learn the APIs. Since then I have been learning pretty much every day.

Depending on the language you are using (C# would be good, VB.net harder) the change to Java should not be overly hard. The trick then is to figure out what area you want to work in and start learning the APIs. 6 months should be fine I would say.

Answer 4

You're going to be able to do this at a shop that has both .NET and JAVA stuff happening. Do not look for a shop that is pure Java and expect the same type of pay rate that you have now.

Answer 5

Yes. You can, basically learning new language add new perspective to your knowledge.