Java Certification Could Boost Your Web Development Career

I don't know what the billboards gossip about where you're from, but around here they're all about Java. I can't drive from one city to the next without seeing a billboard letting me know that I could earn just buckets of money if I only knew Java, and shouldn't I learn that already?

Well, good news! If you're a Java programmer looking to put another notch in your resume, then Oracle is happy to oblige. Fresh off the presses, Oracle's new Java SE 8 Programmer II Certification is the next tier of their Associate level cert with a similar name. If you're an existing developer who already holds the SE 8 Programmer, jump on this train! It's never going to be cheaper or more relevant than it is now.

For existing Java programmers this is a no-brainer, but what about those who don't know Java? What if you, like me, have only seen the advertisements, felt the allure of those buckets of money, or want to mod Minecraft? And why does everybody seem to want Java developers anyway?

Well, as far as the "why" of things, it's difficult to point to just one thing as the reason that Java has such widespread usage. It's more a combination of things that have made it popular. To begin with, Oracle offers the solution for free, meaning that developers have a powerful, standardized, well-maintained language that they don't even have to pay for. Java also shares much of its syntax with older languages (such as C++), while also managing to simplify them. So high performance, good portability, simplicity of use and free implementation — who wouldn't want to use it?

Actually, any web developer who doesn't want to put their users at risk for a cyberattack might consider alternatives. In addition to its desktop offerings, Java also powers browser plugins (not to be confused with Javascript, a popular language used far more commonly than Java on the web). In-browser, Java is incredibly vulnerable, to the extent that in 2012 Kapersky Lab estimated half of all cyber-attacks were executed by exploiting Java. While Java's security has increased substantially since then, a lot of security experts still recommend restricting Java's access to your browser or deleting it altogether; or at very, very least, being religiously diligent in downloading patches.

As far as that last option goes, at least, Oracle is trying to help. Java 8 (the latest version, for which the new cert is being tested) features an auto-updater, which developers hope will help keep users secure.

Bottom line: Java is a cheap, powerful programming language that's a decent choice for most work short of web-development, and also it runs Minecraft. So, let's get back to the cert. The Java SE 8 Programmer II is still in Beta right now, which means you can get it for just $50. The exam is administered at Pearson VUE testing centers and typically consists of between 150 and 225 multiple-choice questions, and applicants can expect to spend somewhere between 2.5 and 3.5 hours at the testing center to take it.

And just in case I didn't make this clear, this is a professional-level cert, meaning that you'll need the Oracle Certified Associate Java SE 8 Programmer certificate to play ball. Oracle also provides training to help prepare for the exam in a few different formats, so if you're feeling a little rusty and a bit wealthy you can get help straight from the cert's source.

And as soon as you're finished I'll let you help me with my mod, completely free of charge. That, my friends, is the power of being certified.