Java seems to be new COBOL in technology marketplace!

Are you struggling to find developers with expertise on Java technology platform? You are not alone! Many companies with legacy or new software systems to be maintained or developed using Java technologies are experiencing a similar situation. They are also struggling to keep their Java developers from leaving for greener postures due to a surge in demand for Java developers.

I am observing this trend for last about 12 months before venturing into writing about it with confidence.

Today, the situation looks similar to the one for COBOL developers during Y2K crises in 1999. There was acute shortage of developers with expertise on mainframe technologies like COBOL, AX400 and CICS.

Emerging and newer technologies like Java script frameworks like Bootstrap, JQuery; Big Data technologies like MongoDB and Hadoop, and mobile apps development on Android and iOS are competing with Java EE, and offer alternatives to developers to make their career in. These newer technologies make it easy for developers to learn hot technology skills relatively easily compared to Java, and to get a lucrative job opportunity with any top IT services company. This makes Java a second choice for developers to make their career in. This short supply also makes good Java developers command better compensation over their peers with expertise on other technologies.

Java gained prominence in last decade as it is open source along with the promise of platform independence which, is true to a large extent. Additionally even development tools like Eclipse IDE (integrated development environment), Struts and Spring frameworks are also free along with the deployment environment of Apache Tomcat being open source too.

Bottom line, if you love JEE platform and have most of your applications developed using it, be prepared to wait longer, interview more candidates, and shell out more for developers with good command over Java technology platforms!

Thank you for reading. I’ll highly appreciate your thoughts and shall be happy to share more.

Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

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